


How cold have you become?

by CapsicleGames



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Dark!Thor, Loki Whump, M/M, Slow Build, badass!tony, but doesn't, cause they're brothers, friendship turns into relationship, peter is a cutie, repost, thor hates loki
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-06-13
Updated: 2014-08-17
Packaged: 2018-01-14 05:23:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 41
Words: 57,133
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1254415
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CapsicleGames/pseuds/CapsicleGames
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Loki hates himself; that's a fact. Perhaps even Thor doesn't stand him either. After a year of sitting in a cell alone, Loki is sentenced to live with Tony Stark as a mortal. Well, more like thrown through his ceiling without explanation. Through Tony's help, Loki learns not only to love himself, but others, and maybe, just maybe, Thor will relearn to love him too. FrostIron, sappy but sweet. AU. Starts post-avengers</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This is a repost from FF.net! There's like 33 chapters already and since I want to transition to ao3, I'll just update this until it's caught up. Please enjoy!

There's only so much a heart could take, even for an immortal.

The darkness never helped him sleep; instead it served as a cruel reminder to his unknown fate. His cell always felt cold despite Asgard's usual warmth and his long-sleeved tunic. He supposed it was because of his heritage. All because he was a frost giant.

He hated those words so much. Frost giant. If he could, he'd get rid of his blue skin. If he still had his magic, he'd claw it all off until it was nothing more but fragments of a lost mask. But deep down, he knew that wouldn't solve anything. He'd have to erase the frost from his DNA, pump it out his veins, slip it all right out before he'd feel better. But he couldn't.

And somehow he got it into his mind that his "brother" knew this. He thought the blonde knew Loki couldn't-wouldn't be able to change. This, in Loki's mind, was why the Asgardian prince never visited him. It hurt, it truly did, but he rationalized that he deserved it.

So Loki sat and endured his punishment of a century of solitude with the exception of guards coming to feed him. He sat in a fit of self pity, of self hatred, and refused to cry himself to sleep. His hair grew longer, but he didn't care.

It was painful for him, and he never spoke, not even to himself. He was expecting the darkness that had become a veil of his soul to gobble him right up.

Instead though, it brought Thor.


	2. Alcohol and Girls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony is head over heels drunk as something crashes through his roof.

Tony Stark wasn't having the best of days, or months really.

It all started about four months after the invasion when he woke up to an empty bed for the first time since he began dating Pepper Potts. The abnormally cold bed had sent a slight shiver down his spine. The wrinkled note she left on her side almost went unnoticed. Once Tony read it, his heart was crushed.

"I can't do this anymore. I'm sorry." it said.

He was dumped.

Tony called her shortly afterwards, wanting an explanation. Pepper answered only a week later, simply saying, "I can't deal with the constant danger, and besides, I'm in love with someone else. Sorry."

Stark turned back to the drinking, partying, and staying locked in his lab. It hurt, it really did. He wasn't sure what else to do. Fortunately Pepper was still his CEO so his company wasn't in shambles. She did come by every now and then to make sure he was still alive, but nothing more.

Now, four months later, Tony wasn't exactly doing the best...'up in the attic' wise.

The (fake) busty blonde he was currently escorting upstairs to his tower penthouse was too chatty and a little too drunk for his likes. Every other second, she was shrieking then pushing him against the nearest wall just to attack his face with whatever her definition of kissing was. It was so damn annoying and it was a wonder he made it that far. Honestly, he wouldn't have been surprised if she made out with the cab they had ridden.

"Ah! Ah! Tony, it's rather nice in here!" she cooed once the elevator finally reached the penthouse.

"That's not the only thing," Stark began, leaning down to kiss her when, suddenly, she jumped up and flailed her arms about. The iron man let out a heavy sigh in disgust and simply moved away. He needed more to drink.

"JARVIS, make sure she doesn't break anything."

"Yes sir."

Tony made his way to his bar and with an expert motion, grabbed a scotch, and guzzled it down straight from the bottle. It burned his throat the whole way down and he reveled in the feeling. It felt much better than interacting with the blonde. Perhaps he should just sleep with the bottle. It'd be better than a night with-

Something tackled him to the ground and his bottle shattered right on his feet and hands. The blonde hugging him from behind squawked and Tony decided that was it.

He roughly escorted her back to the elevator with the glass still in his skin and blood seeping out. "JARVIS, take her down, get a cab, and make sure she gets home. Also record her into the list of girls never coming back."

"Sir, would you-"

"Now JARVIS!"

He turned away with a huff to clean himself off.

Things didn't get any better for him. Being somewhat drunk, he stumbled over to his bathroom where he sat down and prayed that he wouldn't cause the glass to pierce his skin any deeper.

After removing what he thought was all the shards (he was at a point where he didn't care about the tiny shards anymore), he jumped right into the shower. The poor thing slipped and fell a couple of times, not helping the searing pain in his feet and hands.

Muttering many curses, he eventually ended his shower, applied bandages to his wounds, and made his way to his closet. He slipped on a pair of jeans, a band t-shirt that was perhaps one size too small, and made his way to his lab. It would hurt as hell to tinker after all he's been through, and most people would have just gone to bed. Tony Stark wasn't most people, okay?

"JARVIS, get the lab ready for me?"

"Sir, what would you like to hear today?" His AI responded, polite as ever.

"Anything, I don't give a damn at the moment." he said, entering his workspace. He gave a sigh of relief before opening up his latest project.

"Right away sir." JARVIS responded and promptly put on a rather upbeat, teeny-bopper tune.

I just need somebody to looooooveeee, I I don't need to much, just somebody to lo-

"JARVIS, TURN THAT SHIT OFF!" Tony yelled.

He collapsed onto the floor, completely done. He just couldn't take it anymore, really. Almost all his days seemed to turn out the same way and there was no escaping it. Tony wanted to cry, but he didn't. He wasn't sure why, but he just refused to let it out.

Instead though, he found a paperclip laying a little distance away, neglected just like him. Just like him, it was left on the floor, forgotten. Dusty. Lonely. He grabbed it, and held it close to his chest. Yes, he understood it. Him and the paperclip were just the same. "Poor thing," Tony said, cuddling it. "I'll be here for you."

He fell silent and stared around at his lab for long moments, not sure what to do now. But then, it seemed like he didn't need to figure it out for himself as something decided to come crashing through his roof at that precise moment.


	3. What are you doing?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Still drunk, we have a frost giant on the floor, and Tony calls up Pepper for help.

Tony had less that two seconds to react and he sure as hell didn't spend them wisely. Instead of acting like any sensible person, who would have probably rushed to his suit, he merely rolled over so that the lower half of his body was protected under his workbench.

The rubble from the ceiling fell and dust spewed everywhere. He jerked out of the way of several large objects hurtling towards his head (probably some piping) and covered his mouth. Dazed, Tony clutched the paper clip close to his arc reactor with his other hand It was still safe; for a moment it was his world.

But then a large, dark, greasy figure came through the gaping hole in the ceiling with a crash. It tumbled and rolled right on top of Tony. The man's head was covered with some rough cloth, with maybe a texture of an old fashioned potato sack. The heavy musky scent of a man's body odor filled his nostrils and Tony realized whatever came into his house was...a man! He was a master at deducing once he got the healthy scent of sweat up his nose.

The low pain-groan he heard from the figure on top of him confirmed his assumption. With a heave that screamed he was done with shit for the day, he attempted to move the man off his face. It took several tries, but he managed to roll the body off him and to the side. The iron man pocketed his precious paper clip before climbing from under the bench and slowly standing up to survey the damage.

Oh, it wasn't good. He could see New York's night sky in the hole above. Some of his projects were damaged from the ceiling crap falling out. The good thing was that his truly important things-like his suits- were relatively fine.

Next, he turned his attention, reluctantly, to the new man.

Sprawled on his stomach, the stranger had greasy long hair covering his face. Tony's eyes trailed down to observe his outfit. The rough green tunic, which was what was pressed against his face earlier, hung loose off the stranger's frame. The pants on him were ripped and he was barefoot. Fresh blood was seeping out various gashes and cuts all along the visible skin. Wonderful.

"Hey, free loader. I'm sorry but there's no room up for rent here and only ladies are free. You're gonna' have to leave." Tony said.

After a moment of silence, he dared to kick the mysterious man on his side.

"Hello?" he tried again.

No answer. Another kick. Another.

"Alright, I guess you're unconscious." he mumbled and internally rolled his eyes. Nope, man falls through his roof. Why the hell would he still be conscious? Genius.

The iron man resolved to simply drag the free loader out of the room. He grabbed his legs, and started pulling him towards the exit. In the process, the man's hair shifted. Curious, Tony stopped what he was doing.

"Hey, you're hair's trying to crawl away."

No answer.

"I'll fix it for you." he said, bent down, and swiped the black off the man's face.

It was Loki.

"Pepper! Pepper! I need your help," Tony said, his tone full of panic. The stark phone he had pressed against his ear was trembling.

"Stark, it's two in the morning."

Tony recoiled when he heard her use his last name. He would never get used to it.

"Pepper, I need your help-"

"You're drunk, Stark. Remember last time you called me like this?"

Oh yes, he did remember. A few weeks ago he had called Pepper in the middle of the night asking for 'help'. In his defense he was drunk out his mind and that pack of ketchup was hard to open. He couldn't even stand straight.

"Yes, Pepper, but this time I know I'm not drunk and I need your help! A-"

"How many glasses have you had tonight?"

"What? No Pepper, not now-"

"How many Anthony?"

"Two."

"Tony."

"Fine, I lost track after that." he ran his hand through his hair.

"Exactly. Tony, everything is fine. Now, if you're really that worried over ketchup, just calm down. Think and do what you think is right, okay? Approach it with caution, grab the corner of it, and gently open it. Good?"

Tony took two breaths before nodding. Then he remembered she couldn't see him.

"Thank you Pepper." he breathed. The two exchanged clipped "byes" and the iron man readied himself to handle Loki. Well, he readied as best as he could as he didn't know why the hell the norse god was in his tower in the first place.

Tony Stark was a smartass. That was just the cold hard truth. It was written right into his personality and even when his intentions are good, his snark still tainted it.

If this was a movie, the cue for a dramatic montage would come in right here. It would show the quick ten minutes Tony took to lay Loki out in the living room, him running away as soon as he set him down, and then him running to get his "supplies". He wasn't sure what was going on, the alcohol was effecting his brain, and he wasn't sure what he was doing. He grabbed a tool bucket and loaded it down with medical supplies. Pliers and tweezers were added. He even threw in a mini saw.

JARVIS put on more teeny bopper tunes for Tony's preparation. Despite his master's protests, JARVIS even had the nerve to turn the volume up.

After Tony finished loading his last supplies (staplers, cookies, and his bracelets), he was ready. It was time for him to wake the sleeping beast and find out what the heck was going on.


	4. Fetal Position

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He woke up

"I'm ready. JARVIS, I think I'm ready for this!"

Tony had drunk enough alcohol to last him well over a day. He actually figured, deep in some part of his mind, that he was even soaked in it. Along the way of guzzling down half his storage of expensive and strong drink, he poured some all over the place.

Now he was crouching a few feet away from the Norse god lying unconscious(?) on the floor. In Tony's hand was a large wooden stool, held precariously in front of him. He resembled one of those lion-tamers he saw on tv and in movies. The stool was his handy-dandy whip. The lion was a sleeping Loki. All Tony was missing from the picture was the confidence and gusto that came with the tamer. Though he had drunk to muffle his spiraling emotions, the fear and anxiety that came with dealing with Loki still stood.

He remembered that day when Loki brought havoc to New York quite vividly. It was an attack that still haunted his dreams. Sometimes he'd wake after being thrown out a window and into a black hole in space in his dreams. Or even he dreamt of his suit shutting off in space.

So no, he wasn't too keen he decided in his drunk mind. He really couldn't handle anything more unpleasant in his day but this needed to be done. With a quick breath and a drunken stumble, he moved just a few inches closer.

"Hello?" he said, extending the stool so that a leg poked the trickster. His unwelcome guest twitched in response, a pained moan escaping his lips.

Tony took that as a good sign, reached behind himself for the bucket of supplies, and pulled it closer. Then he sifted his attention back to the stool and jabbed Loki in his side this time.

"Hey! Wake up Bambi, you're bleeding on my floor!"

"Sir, would you like me to inform SHIELD of-" JARVIS quickly spoke up when this time Loki's arm moved.

The iron man flinched and stumbled, falling on his side, and the stool flew out his hands in the process. It hit Loki square in his ribs and this time, the villain actually opened his eyes along with another moan. However, Tony did not notice as he was preoccupied with resuming his former stance.

"No! Don't call Ferocious on me JARV!" Tony said.

Then he froze when his clouded brown gaze met Loki's intense green. It literally stole his breath away. Shivers and pine needles ran right down his spine and for a second his was right back to that moment where Loki grabbed him by the neck. He was back to the moment where he was brutally smashed into the window. And then, he remembered the air rushing around him, through his hair, the panic he felt back then.

And Tony did the most reasonable thing he could think of in his drunk off his ass state: assume the fetal position!

The movement was so abrupt that Loki himself recoiled, and his once neutral expression reflected Tony's fear. The two sat in silence for a while, their gazes still interlocked. It hadn't occurred to Tony to turn the other way in his position or to even get his suit. No, he didn't know what to do. So he did he best.

"H-hey Reindeer Games. I see you decided to drop by," Tony began, his voice slurred and shaky. He wasn't doing well, but he was trying.

Loki just stared back, waiting for something. Tony figured it was his unanswered question.

"Should I be returning you to a cell on Asgard or something?" he finally said.

That hit a nerve and Loki looked like he wanted to squirm. He shook his head quickly, looking just like a maniac. Oh wait, Tony drawled in his mind. He was one.

"I don't believe you. I don't think," Tony dared to uncoil himself. "But, I think I need to patch you up. I think."

He reached for his bucket when Loki didn't move, make a sound, or anything.

"So, uh, don't move! Don't try to kill me, okay? I got a suit and I'm not afraid to blast you in the face." As this was being said, Loki seemed to turn paler if that was even possible. He inched away again, clearly not trusting Tony to do anything to him. This should had registered as a white flag in Tony's mind, but his slurry thoughts weren't being too observant in that respect. The man of iron was still preoccupied with his own fear and distrust even when Loki didn't try to attack him when he stood up.

Tony then finally got to work on the "god" as best as any drunk could do. He cautiously cleaned each wound he could see. The only sounds Loki made were small hisses of pain and the only movement he had were flinches. After Tony got into the groove of things, and minutes passed, both parties seemed to relax some.

"Just calm down," Tony kept mumbling to himself and Loki was very puzzled. He supposed it was just something the man of iron did while intoxicated.

Loki had calmed down considerably considering the moment he "woke up" he was scared out his mind Tony Stark would take revenge upon him. He dreaded the first blow and made sure not to close his eyes in case the mortal tried something.

However the blows never came; instead the stench of alcohol wafted off the drunkard's skin. After seeing Stark wasn't much of an angry drunk (it was a surprise to see him in the fetal position), he allowed the man to help his injuries.

As far as he knew, Stark was not a threat as long as he was still in such a state. He couldn't vouch for that thin security though when Stark was sober though. And that was something Loki feared along with Stark finding out about his lack of powers.

He himself had a vague idea of why he ended up crashing through Stark Towers of all places. And it brought a dark aching feeling to his chest when he realized it was all Thor's doing.


	5. I'm waking up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki has some explaining to do...

When Tony wakes up, he's not sure where he was and a nasty hangover was over his head. Still delirious, he miraculously crawled his way down to a bathroom where he threw up. His headache was pounding and his throat was very sore from the sharp tang of the drinks, but he was used to it. This wasn't his worse actually.

The iron man quickly took a shower, washing away whatever filth hung on to him. He vaguely remembered his night; did whatever girl that came with him leave? Had she left on her own? What did she look like?

Goodness, it might not have been his worse hangover yet but it still did its damage.

He dressed quickly and popped a few pills in his mouth for his head. He waited around for half an hour until the medicine finally did it's trick. From there he made his way back out to his living room/kitchen area. His stomach was growling and he really needed some food. Tony couldn't remember whether or not he still had leftovers sitting in his fridge. Either way, he could just call a place up for some grub.

"JARV, put on some coffee. Is there anything in the fridge?" he asked, stretching and approaching the kitchen. The coffee machine buzzed on as soon as he took a seat on the counter.

"Sorry sir, but it appears to only be full of alcoholic beverages." JARVIS replied, and Tony detected a hint of snark in the AI's response.

"Hey, are you sassing me?"

"No, sir. Would you like me to call a nearby restaurant?" his AI replied with the same tone as before. Tony narrowed his eyes but then shook it off.

"Yeah, pizza. The usual order."

The coffee machine dinged and Tony didn't wait for it to cool. He drank it straight from the container, nice and black like he liked it. The caffeine thoroughly awoke his senses and he felt refreshed. Man, he needed to lay off the drinks...

"And what about your guest, sir?"

What.

Tony almost choked. The girl was still here? What? Where, he thought he told JARVIS to chase them away before he woke up!

"JARVIS, why isn't she out of here?"

"Sir, I don't think your guest appreciates being referred to as female."

"What the hell?!" Tony did spit some coffee out this time. Who would be here? He racked his brain for any pieces of his night. And then it all clicked. Slowly, with great caution, he turned his head toward the living room. And sure enough, poking his head sheepishly over the back of his couch, was a scratched up Loki.

Tony dropped his mug on the ground and ignored the shattering glass. He clicked his bracelets on and summoned his suit in seconds. He felt the metal cling to his frame and he raised his arm to fire in case Loki made any sudden movements.

Loki slowly lowered his head so that he couldn't be seen. He was terrified. The frost giant decided then that sober Stark would surely kill him. Iron Man would probably aim blast after blast at his mortal body. He'd probably continue on until Loki was dead on his couch. How lovely.

"Why are you here?" Tony said, moving closer.

Loki frowned and shrunk against the couch's fabric. He was too weak to run away. He had no magic. He wasn't sure how well he could speak; after all his last words were muttered almost a year ago at his trial.

"Rudolph!" Loki nearly jumped and when he looked up the iron man was right in front of him.

"I'm sorry!" he cried, his voice coming out hoarse. This stopped the mortal right in his tracks and he waited for him to go on.

"I'm sorry to...intrude. I was...banished on Midgard as a punishment and...T-Thor..." Loki continued on, his voice cracking at the last word.

But Tony Stark must've figured his words were true as the metal suit came apart. It flew back where it came from, revealing the shorter man staring intently at him. After another moment of locking gazes, the human shrugged and turned away.

"JARVIS, change my order. You like pizza, Bambi? Oh wait, you've never had it. I forgot you ass guards don't have such great delicacies as us. JARV, add on another large."


	6. How's the food?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Someone gets slapped but at least things are cleared up

Tony would never bet his entire fortune on the idea that one day he'd be sitting at a table, eating pizza with the "god of mischief". No, he would have a higher chance on betting he'd give JARVIS to Fury before he would put his cards on the former. But yet, here he was, eating with Loki himself.

The iron man had just finished half of his pizza while Loki was barely touching his first slice. Either he was still scared to death of Tony or he was overwhelmed by the fact Tony ordered him an entire pizza. Or maybe it was the fact that Tony Stark was sitting across from him, his own box opened as he was eating directly out of it.

It didn't matter. Loki was silent, a strange darkness in his eyes, but his posture defeated. It was freaking weird, and Tony squirmed every other second. He was highly tempted to grab a drink but he was still nursing his last hangover. Plus, he still wasn't completely informed on the current situation and a drunk Tony was not a good idea at that moment.

Thank goodness Tony had enough sense to judge that. But finally, as he was predictable, he decided to speak and break the awful silence.

"So, liking the pizza?" he asked, giving him his usual snark look.

Loki did not respond, and Tony realized he must have zoned right out.

"Ass guard?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. No response. "Bambi? Horndog?"

"Hm?" Loki's attention snapped right back to him, his face tense. Tony took a quick bite of his food before asking,

"How's the food?"

"Filling."

"That's great! Yeah, I didn't know what you wanted, but my favorite is always-"

"When are you going to turn me over to SHIELD or Thor?"

"What?" Tony blinked, partly surprised. Damn, there was no beating around the bush with Loki. The villain was already staring into his eyes, the green a hard serious color. There was no joking in his tone, only wariness and a well controlled tone that hid whatever he could've been hiding.

"I do not expect you to continue to treat me as a guest as I am intruding, and my departure is bound to be swift. I simply would like to know when it will happen so I can prepare for whatever punishment I am to endure."

"W-What?" Tony repeated, now surprised.

"Please do not feel the need to soften anything. I firmly understand your reluctance to keep me here as I have wronged you so much in the past."

"No, you got that wrong!" Tony said firmly, stopping Loki from spouting out anything else. "I have not said anything to tell you I do not want you here, have I? Damn, I ordered you pizza! I just want to know what is going on, and since you haven't slit my throat yet, I'm fine with you right here!"

"No, that is not it." Loki shook his head, the emotion he was working so hard to prevent from coming out finally breaking the barrier. It was fear and sadness, and it made his voice crack.

"Yes it is!" Tony insisted.

"I've wronged you in the past." Now Loki was shaking, his eyes watering as if he'd burst into tears. It was disturbing to Tony and he could feel himself shaking. "So you must want revenge for my acts. I've killed so many of your people, surely you want something!"

"I don't! Why would you believe that!"

"Because, it's the only logical answer-"

"No! No, it's not! I do not want to hurt you, Sparkles! What happened back then, that was a year ago! You've been in Asgard, you had your time out. That's it! Why would I want to hurt you after all that?!"

"Because Thor did!" Loki yelled the last word, nearly pushing the pizza onto the floor as he was shaking too much.

This stopped Tony and a million questions flooded into his mind at once. What? Would Thor do that? Why would Thor do whatever he did?

"I'm not Thor." He answered slowly. "And I'm not SHIELD either. I don't want revenge."

A silence fell between the two as Loki stared at him with disbelief all over his features. Tony had no clue what to do, and it was depressing him. Seeing the hurt on Loki's expressions were plain alien to him and he wished he could just turn away. But then he got an idea, and he quickly brought up his hand and slapped Loki hard across his face.

The taller man was taken off guard and recoiled as soon as the pain came to his face. He gasped, scared that the slap was the beginning of the blow. He readied himself for the rest of the hits, but once again, they didn't come. Instead, he looked up and Tony was giving him a sheepish look.

"There," Tony began. "We're even. You're forgiven, not entirely, but enough to stay here. I don't know what Thor did, but it seems like it was enough."


	7. Try this on

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> That wonderful cliche of getting new clothes~

"Hey, try this one on!" Tony said, and tossed the shirt right over his shoulder without pause in looking through the box of clothes. He had no clue whether Loki caught it or had to scramble to get it, but that's really on him he decided.

Shortly after the slap, the two finished their meal without a word. And then, Tony noticed some fresh blood on Loki. Being responsible, he quickly worked to fix that. He re-cleaned the wounds and applied new bandages. The whole time he ignored Loki's stare, afraid one of them might crack and go into another emotional argument. Tony really didn't want to touch on that though it was inevitable. He hoped he had enough time to avoid any touchy-feely things until he got his own self together. But then again, that could take years.

He then noticed Loki's old bedraggled tunic and pants. Deciding it wasn't sanitary to keep him in that, he decided to take Loki to his closet to change.

Nothing fit him of course. The reindeer was just too damn tall and ended up ripping a few shirts of Tony's. Fortunately, none of them were too expensive and Tony could just purchase more.

The iron man resulted to searching through his "box of one-night stands" he kept deep in his closet. It was just a large cardboard box where he store all the clothes left after a crazy night and even some of Pepper's old outfits. In fact, his ex-girlfriend personally donated a lot of clothes to the box after their break-up. It was her way of getting rid of the old memories and also, as she put it, "assisting the poor dears who get dragged here for a night."

It had hurt Tony when she practically bad mouthed him and the tower, but he swallowed that down. It was actually useful as some nights did get pretty rough. A few ladies had actually contributed, others took something with them, and it became a communal thing around the place.

Now it would help Loki out. There was bound to be something his size, as knowing Tony, he had people of all shapes and sizes over. He swore he's had a few nights with some girls taller than the "god" anyway.

So far he had picked out two other shirts, each two sizes too small. He had to really dig down, push the revealing stuff to the side, and finally find the bigger stuff at the bottom. He threw a pair of black jeans over his shoulder, then a belt, then a band t-shirt. He rifled around, selected a few more shirts, and then his fingers froze when they came in contact with a familiar fabric.

Soft, lightweight, easily wrapping around his fingers. He remembered the feel very well, especially on this particular garment.

It was a nice day, not a cloud in the sky. They were walking down the crowded streets, hand in hand, sunglasses on. No one recognized them yet, but they had a good half an hour before someone did. But that was all they needed. Pepper stopped him in front of a rather trendy looking store; the name eluded him but the feel of her breath on his neck didn't. "Tony, look at that."

In the shop window was a few mannequins, but the particular she was pointing to was right in front of them. Posing it's skinny body in a neutral stance, it was modeling the garment very well. The two stared at it for a few minutes before walking into the store and getting one for Pepper. He was so happy to see her shriek in excitement, to watch her tell the cashier she'd wear it out.

The cashmere v-neck sweater hugged her frame perfectly, and the peachy tone made her skin glow. She was beautiful, the most he ever seen her. Better than the mannequin by far in Tony's opinion. But Pepper rarely wore it, only twice he was sure. Both times took his breath away and he welcomed seeing her in it. But then she had washed it improperly, and it stretched out quite a bit. It became too big for her though it was still a great sweater.

But she put it in the cardboard box. He understand why and couldn't blame her completely; it was such a good memory of them together and if she held on to it, she would've come back. He wished she still had it.

"S-Stark?" came Loki's timid voice, jerking Tony back to present times. He turned around, sweater still in his hands and gave a faint nod.

He managed to fit in the pants, though they were probably an inch too short, the belt fit his skinny waist, but one of the band t-shirts he had was stuck on his head. The neck part was way too small.

Chuckling at the sight, Tony searched through his closet for a pair of scissors. He found one tucked away in the corner then turned back to Loki. Setting it beside the Asgardian, Tony reached over and gently tugged at the shirt. He was trying to pull it off, and Loki just watched him.

Finally, when Loki decided to help by pulling too, it came loose. If it had hurt him, he didn't say a word.

Tony straightened out the shirt on the floor, pulling out some wrinkled, before bringing scissors to it. He gently cut the collar off, instead giving the shirt a small v-neck (he didn't want to risk a scoop or anything else as he wasn't used to cutting up shirts). He threw the cut-off part to the side, then cut off the sleeves.

When he was done converting it into a tank, he passed it over to his guest who put it right on. The new tank went on with ease, and luckily, it fit Loki decently. The cut into the collar Tony made had cut off just a tip of the Sound of Silence, Simon and Garfunkle shirt, but the whole thing was fine. Tony did a quick look over, admiring his work.

And hey, he had to admit, besides the bandages, Loki looked pretty nice. Though dressed in a gray top and black bottoms, he was definitely good looking. He shrugged those thoughts off though, as his goal was complete. He decided that he would go shopping for some shoes for him once he got better.

"Okay, looking good," Tony said, clasping his hands together. "I'll show you where you can sleep, and then I need to get to work."


	8. Dreams

About a thousand years or so ago, man believed the stars where the only thing in the universe that would never change. They believed they were stagnant, bright gods in the sky that lived far away. They needed to be worshipped, sacrificed to, and praised. The cosmos was one of life's greatest mysteries but they rationalized it with religion. Their gods were strong and absolute.

There was a time when Loki believed it. Foolish he was to.

For one, he wasn't Asgardian so he wouldn't exactly count in as the rest of his adoptive family. Two, he wasn't absolute. He wasn't perfect, none of them were, nor great, and Heimdall wasn't entirely all-seeing. It was so ironic of a race that thought so above themselves to accept the stories the very creatures they so-called triumphed over.

Loki was not a god, neither was Odin or Thor. No one in Asgard was a god, and it was so sad that the Midgardians figured that out way before them. They were just another group of lost creatures out in the universe. Though they knew of many other races and realms, they still barely scratched the surface of the universe themselves.

The frost giant was laying on the bed that Stark had lent him. The one was very well furnished and large, including a large array of technology and included a bathroom. One wall was just a giant window overlooking the city. He had pulled the blinds closed when he first walked in, not wanting to see the day light.

It was a bit too overwhelming on Loki to tell you the truth. He was so used to his tiny cell where he only had enough space to pace about five feet. Here, it seemed endless space.

Not wanting to strain his head too much, he had flopped on the bed. On his back he settled his unfocused gaze on the ceiling. Eventually, he managed to drift asleep.

+

_Please allow me to introduce myself, I'm a man of wealth and taste._

A few lines from a peculiar song somehow drifted into Loki's dream of darkness. The whole dream he had done nothing but stand in pitch dark, unsure of where he was. But then the sound of music drifted in, an anchor to him. He listened to it for a while, not sure what the hell it was. But then the melody abruptly changed into something louder and heavier.

_See me ride out on the sunset on your color TV screen!_

What?

_Cause' I'm TNT I'm dynamite!_

The music shook the room, and Loki's eyes shot right open as he was jolted away. The music continued blaring, helping him lose whatever sleep he had left. The frost giant listened with his eyes on the ceiling, the music nearly bursting his ear drums. But then...he heard another voice along with it. Was someone..singing along?

"JARVIS!" Stark yelled, sounding out of breath. "Turn this party up! DJ get it going, JARV!"

Crazy ass human, Loki couldn't help but think. But then he quickly scolded himself for the thought as he was getting cared for by Stark. Respect was needed from him so his tongue remained bitten.

Then the music changed again, becoming more upbeat.

_Starships were meant to fly_

"JARVIS! I said turn the party up. That means don't piss on it."

"Sir, I believe this is the appropriate music for parties as well as clubs."

"Shut up, JARV." Tony said, and started singing along just for the hell of it.

Finally, Loki dared to roll over on his side so he could see Tony. A light blush immediately crept onto his face. This was...not what he was expecting. Really, he was so surprised to how open Stark was. It shouldn't have shocked him, as on Asgard it was usually worse as men were sometimes plain naked, but coming from a former enemy...wow.

Tony Stark was a few feet away from his bed, dressed in only his boxers and a tight tank. He was dancing quite spastically, even throwing in a lewd move. He was definitely enjoying himself, as a genuine smile suddenly came to his face.

"...are you...drunk?" Loki asked after the song ended and another upbeat followed.

That was when Tony finally stopped dancing and noticed Loki was watching him. He gave a chuckle before waving his arm for the music to stop. It did on his command and he slowly shook his head, no.

"I'm sorry. I tried to shake you awake, but you wouldn't wake up. So I played some music and just decided to dance. Glad you can join me, Bambi."

That wasn't really true. About twenty minutes before waking his guest, Tony sat down and tried to figure out a way to open the Asgardian up a bit. It wasn't good for Loki to stayed holed up in his room as much as Tony wanted to stay in his workshop, plus if the iron man really thought about it, he needed the company. So he spoke with JARVIS, had a pointless conversation, and then started his "dance party".

"I don't dance...not any more." Loki responded, eyes going down to the floor.

"You'll be dancing once I start working on you."

Oh, that came out wrong. Tony hoped he didn't take it the wrong way. "I mean, I will definitely get you back into it."

"Why aren't you wearing pants," Loki mumbled, eyes still on the ground.

"Why haven't you been out of your room in two days?" Tony countered.

Loki blinked, very confused. What? Was he really asleep for that long. He suddenly noticed he was thirsty and hungry. His hair was also pretty greasy if that was an indicator. So, he had spent two days dreaming about standing in darkness. It must have been a sign.

"Come on, Horndog. I got takeout for ya'." Tony said again, this time holding the door open for the "god" to follow him. Loki got up, ignoring the fact that he was wearing his clothes from before, and left for the kitchen with Tony. Neither of them noticed Pepper Potts sitting at the bar with a stack of papers.


	9. Only for you

Pepper was the first to react when the two men realized she was there. Loki opted for cowering, not quite knowing who the woman was. He was immediately embarrassed by his behavior as the woman was a mere mortal, and he scolded himself for that. But hiding underneath the nearest chair felt safe for him. It brought back a painful memory of him cowering just like it behind a stool right before his trial. As soon as Loki landed on Asgard soil, most of his magic was taken from him. The most he could do with it was simple tricks. The guards had used that to their advantage and had gotten their revenge for the years of him torment as prince. The constantly had hit him, kick him, anything they could do. A small stool was his only friend in his first cell.

And then Thor had come to visit him one last time before the trial. The two had gotten into an argument, all over Thor calling Loki a brother. Things got heated, the two were neck and neck, and finally Thor made the first blow. He yelled at Loki, telling him how tired he was of the petty arguments they had over the one little word. Loki fought back, attempting to fight Thor.

" _Don't you ever call me a brother! I am not like you, I never was."_

 _"Fine! So you say you don't want me as family?"_ Thor boomed, landing a blow to Loki's face. The frost giant crumpled to the ground, his almost mortal body not as sturdy as he usually was. Thor kicked him again, anger taking over him.

" _Then we aren't family. I will not love you as a brother anymore!"_ he yelled, aiming another kick at Loki's midsection. This time Loki scrambled frantically for his stool, holding it in front of him, shaking with a new fear.

" _THIS IS WHAT YOU WANT, TRICKSTER! I WILL NO LONGER PERMIT YOU TO SPEAK AGAINST MY FATHER EITHER."_ Thunder and lightning was surely dominating the Midgardian sky.

" _WATCH YOUR TONGUE, FROST GIANT, OR ELSE ONE DAY YOU'LL FIND IT CUT RIGHT OUT."_ Thor grabbed the stool and yanked right out Loki's hands. He grabbed his ex-sibling by the collar, and breathed, " _Perform more treachery, threaten Asgard, or so much as try to escape your punishment, and I will_ _ **kill**_ _you._ Understood?"

Loki gave him a slight nod, tears threatening to spill out his wide eyes. The two held each other's gazes for a moment. Behind most of the rage, Loki could see hurt. Thor was hurt. Loki regretted everything he said before, wanted to take everything back, anything to keep Thor's love. In that moment, he realized he did care for his adopted brother. He had all along, and just like that, after years of betrayal on his part, he had thrown away perhaps the only person who was willing to care for him. It was over and Loki was truly alone.

He shifted back to reality just as Tony managed to calm Pepper down by a large degree. For a few moments, he watched the two talk, not exactly registering what was being said. But then words started to become clear in his head.

"For goodness sakes, Tony! At least tell SHIELD that he-"

"I can't," Tony interrupted. "At least not until he heals. I need answers first."

"You can't handle this alone, Tony." Pepper said, stubborn to make him see her point of view.

"No Pepper! I _need_ to know why he crashed here! I need to before SHIELD get him and locks him up for good!"

"You're being mind controlled."

"He's under _a chair_. Do you really think he's doing that?"

"I can't believe-"

"My house, my rules. He gets to remain here. At least, until we get everything straightened out."

"And then you hand him over?"

"...Pepper..."

"He is a VILLAIN TONY!" Pepper suddenly yelled, finger pointing in Loki's direction. "He has killed a lot of people, and he even threw you out a window!"

"Don't you DARE suggest I don't remember that!" Tony yelled back, getting riled up by her. He loved her, but goddamn could she just trust him? "Please. He's harmless. He's been here for like three days now."

"Three DAYS?"

"Yes." Tony said, and started walking towards Loki. He was done with the conversation with Pepper. He had to make sure Loki wasn't peeing all over the floor from anxiety because he sure looked like he would. Loki did flinch when Tony gently reached out a hand but he took it. Carefully, Tony helped the frost giant out from his hiding place and led him over to get some food. Since Loki was still pale and rigid, the iron man carefully filled a bowl with some takeout food for Loki and set him down in a seat.

"It's okay," Tony cooed, giving him a reassuring thumbs up. "Pep's scary, but she isn't the violent type."

This was where Pepper finally cleared her throat, done with observing the two's interactions.

"Is he my replacement?" she asked, not meeting Tony's eyes. Tony nearly choked on air.

"What?" he asked, at once lost for words.

"Is he my replacement?"

"Are you jealous?" he shot back. She narrowed her eyes slightly.

"No. You were cheating on me the whole time anyway." she dismissed, ready to turn the conversation. But Tony held on.

"You assumed that. Don't be jealous of something you could have still had."

"It was nothing if you were bending women over behind my back."

"I never cheated on you, Pep. I can't believe you'd believe the press on that one," Tony said. "Sure, I'm not the most faithful. I have a reputation for that. But I'd never do that to you."

Pepper slowly shook her head, not quite believing it.

"Never to you, Pepper." he said. And he meant it.


	10. Make your call Pepper

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pepper decides to take matters into her own hands

"These all need to be signed by tomorrow. I have them all organized in a certain order and they need to stay that way," Pepper said. "I will be back here at seven o'clock sharp, Tony. I suggest you wake up early enough for my arrival."

"What?" Tony snapped, nearly dropping his bowl of noodles, mouth hanging open. "Me? Up at _that_ unholy hour in the morning? Loki isn't even up then, right Lokes?"

The iron man casually poked the norse god in the ribs, ignoring any tensing of his body. So Loki was still healing from his crash. It wasn't the nicest or ideal thing for Tony to do, but he figured he was tough enough for it. After all, it was just a poke?

Loki's reply came in a curt nod, him keeping his gaze trained on his feet. Pepper openly stared at Loki, searching for any chink in his armor. She didn't trust him at all and was thoroughly convinced he was planning something. No matter how much Tony insisted he was safe, she couldn't help but think Loki was just a good actor. After all, wasn't a little too convenient for the villain to land right at Stark's feet? Right when Tony was going through a "downward spiral" as the media put it. Pepper could bet all the company's stock that Tony was drunk off his ass when Loki arrived.

Wasn't it all to fishy to Tony? Why hadn't it raised a red flag?

Oh wait, because Tony didn't care. He was a different person than a year ago; his broken fragments of heart was starting to show. Even though her leaving him was the final push to Tony's break down, he was still changing months before. She remembered waking up some nights to him screaming in his sleep, lashing out, acting as if he was trying to reach for something. A couple of times she had been hit, but she dismissed it as Tony was deep asleep. But it worried her.

As time progressed, he seemed distant. Lost in thought, a tired look coming over his face. Soon he became a little depressed, losing care for most things in life. And though Pepper tried really hard to cheer him up, and though he put a smile on his face, she knew it was in vain. Though Tony said he loved her, she couldn't help but doubt it. How could he love her if he didn't love himself? Or would he really love her when everything in life he smiled about was a lie?

The media didn't help. Stories of Tony's one night stands resurfaced, pictures along with them. She at first knew they weren't true, all gossip from long before _them_ but she let it dig into her. She became paranoid and coupled with her fears of losing him in a super hero battle AND his lack of care, it became too much. She started drifting away from him too. Eventually she met someone new, and she couldn't help but run to him instead. He felt _real_ and he was on solid ground. She needed that.

"Yes. If you are not up by then, I will make sure JARVIS wakes you up," she cleared her throat. "Then I need you to clean up."

"Why?" he asked.

She bit her lip, finally turning her attention back to Tony. She took in his worn face, his stubble slightly overgrown along with his hair. There was a slight twitch with his thick brow. His eyes were slightly narrowed, and when she actually looked into his eyes, she noticed it. He was thinking, many possible reasons for her requests flying through his head all at once. She could see the confusion in there, none of his theories quite adding up. He looked slightly frustrated as a few moments went by.

He couldn't figure what was going. Perfect.

"Just do it, Tony."

With that, Pepper rose from her seat, beginning her walk to the elevator. Her hills clacked rhythmically against the floor and Pepper could feel both men's gazes on her back. It brought prickles to her back when she realized Loki was watching her, but she shook it off. The creeper would be taken care of soon if her plan worked out well. He wouldn't get the opportunity to even touch Tony, so help her. She would ensure it.

"Oh! And Tony?" she whipped around to face him one last time. "Shave, get a haircut, and put on something nice. Eat some vegetables, you'll need them."

"What? I would never-"

"I'll make sure he does everything, Mrs. Potts." Loki's quiet voice made both of them jump. They hadn't expected him to speak at all. Pepper stood in shock for a moment before tensely nodding and swiftly getting into the elevator. Oh yes, she would make sure her plan worked.

* * *

Within an hour after leaving the towers, Pepper stopped by her new place to make a call. Fortunately it was picked up on the first ring, and she let go a sigh of relief.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't hate Pepper.


	11. Steve O'Clock

Two people were in the tower's elevator at seven o'clock sharp in the morning, just as promised.

Pepper stood tall, her posture in it's usual confident state. She smoothed out her skirt to keep up with her usual impeccable appearance and quickly adopted a serious expression. She was here for business and she made sure it showed. The man next to her mirrored her, only he adopted a small smile whereas Pepper's mouth was a thin line of concentration. He quickly wiped a few beads of sweat off his brow, swiping his hand on his classic blue jeans. Jeebers, was this going to be interesting, the man thought.

When Pepper had initially called him, he was right in the middle of working out. However, being the respectable man he was with manners, he ran and picked the phone up right away. He was very surprised to hear Mrs. Pott's voice, and he eagerly told her that. After listening to what Pepper had to say, promising her he was not going to alert SHIELD, he prepared to leave his apartment for good. Pepper had offered him one of the rooms in the tower as a permanent residence. She said it was long overdue, so he took it after she insisted.

So he packed all his things into one suitcase (you'd think after a year he'd collect more possessions), and met Mrs. Potts outside his building. He waved his dingy little space good bye. He wouldn't really miss it anyway; most of his time was spent at the gym or reluctantly with SHIELD.

But now the elevator dinged, symbolizing their arrival on the penthouse floor. With a deep breath, Steve Rogers set foot into the space, bracing himself for what was to come.

* * *

Loki had kept his word, and at about five o'clock, he was knocking at Tony's door. After a few moments of silence he pounded it a couple times with his fist before hesitantly yelling, "Man...of iron?"

No, that didn't quite sound right. He juggled around what else he could possibly call out, something that would sit right on his tongue.

"Stark?"

That was a lot better. For a second he wondered why he even called Stark "Man of Iron". That was Thor's name for the man; he recalled his ex-brother using it a few times before their fight. He found it humorous at the time that the big oaf had the mortal's name so _wrong_ and he laughed mentally at his stupidity. Now though the name brought a pang to his heart. It reminded him too much of the Aesir.

He heard a voice on the inside of the room, loud music, and then the door knob started to twist. Soon Tony's head popped right outside the door frame, eyes slightly red, and a large scowl on his face. He looked like he was ready to kill someone, but Loki knew he wouldn't. The frost giant took a step back anyway, but still tried to keep his cool.

"What the hell do you want?! YOU WOKE ME UP!" Tony shouted, clearly grumpy from being awake so early. He was actually having a decent night sleep; he had only woken once from a nightmare in the middle of the night but that was it.

"The morn has arrived." he said, his voice finally coming out smoothly. Why would it not anyway? It was a saying he was so used to hearing, something Frigga would tell him and Thor every morning.

"Thank you Shakespeare, now why doth thou taketh thou ass down the hallway and GO BACK TO BED!" Tony snapped. Oh was he grumpy...

"Mrs. Potts requested your presence in two hours."

"How the hell do you know what time it is?!"

"The ceiling told me."

"You mean JARVIS?" Tony asked, sounding more amused now.

"If that is his name, yes. Now please prepare for the day or else I will...have to ask him for help."

With that, Loki looked up pointedly at the ceiling before shakily walking away. That took a lot of guts on his part, and a little bit of stepping out of line. But after spending days with the iron man, he realized Tony didn't care and sometimes he had to have someone tell him what to do. And Tony watched him leave with a smile. He was still tired, but he was happy to finally not have to deal with a cowering Loki.

He still needed details on what happened, but that would have to wait.

* * *

About twenty minutes before seven Tony made his way out into the living area, nearly awake after taking a shower and shaving. He had thrown a plain white button down and some slacks. That was as fancy as he was getting that early in the morning.

Loki was sitting casually at the bar, reading what looked like a thick book. Tony squinted at it as he retrieved his morning black coffee. "Bambi, where'd you get that?"

"JARVIS. He gave me instructions to your library."

"When was that?" Tony grumbled, taking a sip before adding, "And what library?"

"Yesterday afternoon, and a couple floor down." he flipped to the next page. "Can't miss it."

"Wow." He had forgot about that floor. It was a shame he didn't know too much about what was in his own house anymore. If you had asked him about it months ago, he just wouldn't care. But something about Loki knowing more than him about his own place...disturbed him. Not only that, but Tony must be a horrible housekeeper to leave his guest on his own. Especially his ex-genocidal alien villain guest.

"Lokes, remind me to give you a proper tour of the whole tower, kay?"

"Lokes?"

"JARVIS, document that too and remind me of it after lunch."

"Yes sir," the AI said politely. "And Mr. Loki, would you care for a cup of tea?"

The frost giant looked up from his book a moment to smile kindly at the ceiling. It was strange for Tony to see, the "god of mischief" genuinely smiling at his ceiling, but at the same time it was kind of adorable. He couldn't help but smile too and look away.

"Earl Gray please. It tasted lovely yesterday, so I'd love another." Loki said, then turned back to his book once JARVIS turned on the necessary machine.

"You know you don't have to look at the ceiling every time you talk to him." Tony took a seat at the table.

"I don't? Hm, I suppose I'll stop that then."

"Hey, whatever you want to do. You two can continue being besties."

"'Besties'?"

"Best friends. You and JARV are bonding...pretty fast."

"Why is that so surprising?" Loki closed the book and leaned his chin on his hands.

"Well, you know, you're from ass guard-"

"-Asgard-" Loki interrupted, correctly pronouncing the name.

"-and from what I've learned from Thor, it's not the most advanced with technology. I'm surprised you aren't scared and jumping around like a hooligan whenever you hear JARVIS." Tony finished.

"Oh...I did..hide at first. And was quite frightened," Loki said slowly. "But I figured the mortal living in the ceiling is not dangerous, but instead all seeing. Very intelligent too, he knows a lot about Midgardian culture."

Tony couldn't help but laugh at this and Loki tilted his head ever so slightly in confusion.

"No, that's," he managed to calm his laughter down enough to speak, "JARVIS is an AI which means-"

"Sorry to interrupt sir," JARVIS interrupted. "but Mrs. Pepper Potts has announced her arrival."

"Oh shit! I'll explain to you later then, okay?" Tony said hurriedly just as the elevator door came open and he immediately spotted bright blue eyes and blue jeans...


	12. What the fuck, Pepper?

"What the EVER-LOVING FUCK?!" Tony was the first to yell, standing to his feet quickly. He almost immediately positioned himself defensively in front of Loki and shifted into a protective stance. Everyone stood in silence, looking each other over. So Tony continued on, "Seriously, what were you thinking?! I told you I WAS SAFE! Captain Spangles over here could easily get on my ass and who knows what the fuck will happen!!"

Oh Tony was _pissed_. How could Pepper be so careless, letting one of the Avengers just waltz in while Loki was here?

"Tony..." Pepper began, adopting the tone she used when she had an explanation. Tony's eyes widened with realization and his anger exploded.

"Pepper, you TOLD SHIELD?!" he screamed.

"No! I didn't, I would never. You and I both don't trust them completely. No one does, so why would I rely on them?"

"Then why the fuck is he here?"

"Mr. Rogers is not a member of SHIELD, he's an Avenger," she said smoothly, hiding whatever agitation she was developing. "He's a _friend_ , Tony. And you need help."

"He is NOT my friend, Pepper," Tony practically snarled. "He's an old obsession of my father's and he's just a generic soldier. If you wanted me to hang out with a friend, you could have called Rhodey!"

Tony inwardly shook his head at her, so upset. She should _know_ him better than that. She was one of his closest friends, ex-girlfriend, CEO of his company. It was no secret that Tony didn't like the super soldier too much. He found him too conservative, old-fashioned, too much of a goody-two-shoes. Those were three things he couldn't stand. But what really sealed the deal and justified his feelings toward Steve would be the fact that his father used to work with him.

His father, the ever distant paternal figure that acted as if he never loved him practically obsessed over the blonde man. He had put so much towards developing Captain America, spent his time smiling over it. But did he ever smile over Tony? No. His father preferred the company of a frozen man to his own flesh and blood. And though he realized his father still loved him, just couldn't show it right, he still felt inadequate. He wasn't as pure as Steve, and he sure as hell had more problems. Not only did his father try to make him a carbon copy of himself, but he wanted Tony to be as great as Steve. And sadly, it just wasn't who Tony was.

"Rhodey can't babysit you." Pepper snapped, patience gone.

"So I'm being _babysat_ now? IS THAT WHAT THIS IS ABOUT?" he threw his hands up. "YOU FINALLY REALIZED YOU WEREN'T DOING A GOOD JOB, THAT YOU WERE IGNORING ME, SO YOU FINALLY HIRED OFF SOMEONE TO DO YOUR JOB?"

"What?" Pepper knit her eyebrows together, caught off guard.

"Don't you DARE deny the fact that it TOOK A FUCKING GENOCIDAL KILLER IN MY HOUSE FOR YOU TO START PAYING ATTENTION TO ME AGAIN!"

"Tony-"

"NO! YOU LEFT ME PEPPER! YOU LEFT ME BY MYSELF TO ROT IN THIS PLACE! YOU'VE ONLY BEEN HERE TWICE A MONTH BEFORE THIS AND YOU BARELY SAID A WORD." he was yelling so loud and crazily, his voice was starting to go raw. "You know what? GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY HOUSE! I DON'T WANT YOU TO SEE YOU HERE ANYMORE! I'm just DONE!"

"Tony Stark!" Came a new voice, one belonging to Steve Rogers. He had stepped in front of Pepper, gently tapping her shoulder, signaling he was taking over her side of the argument. Pepper looked close to tears, and it deeply disturbed the Captain. He was so used to seeing her so strong and tough, made of stone. Ms. Potts reminded him of a woman he knew long ago.

Tony's attention was shifted to the blonde, already fired up. He had forgotten Steve was in the room, but he looked ready to put on his suit and fight anyway. Steve took a calming breath, trying his best not to look threatening.

"Tony, I'm here to help you," he began. "because you need help. Pepper told me everything you told her. She was worried for your well-being and I agree. She was going to turn to Bruce, but the Hulk was too much to risk at the moment. So I'm staying here."

"And SHIELD?" Tony said through his teeth, still seething.

"I don't trust them. Not since New York." came Cap's reply.

"We are NOT friends. So I KNOW you aren't doing this out the kindness of your virgin heart," Tony glared. Then he gave him a fake smile, not at all friendly. "Oh wait. You're Star Spangled Patriot. Of course it's from your heart."

"Yes. I care about my team," Steve replied, letting out another sigh. "But if it makes you feel better, I will be moving in. Into a room here."

"Of course." Tony said.

The two stared at each other. Tony's gaze was hostile, antagonizing, asking for more explanation. Steve's was a lot more pleading, wishing he would just be open to him helping keep him safe from any surprise attacks from Loki. There were no ill intentions in the captain's blue eyes and it made Tony all the more upset. Why was there nothing wrong with the man? All he saw in Steve was what everyone wanted him to behave like and he bristled at the thought. Why couldn't he simply be like him?

But then he felt a cool hand on his arm, traveling slowly up to rest on his shoulder. It was a hesitant, cautious movement ment to comfort him. And surprisingly, Loki's hand resting on his shoulder did calm him down. Somehow, he was happy to have Loki there. It was amazing how similar the two seemed, Tony noted. They both were troubled individuals surrounded by expectations they felt they couldn't live up to. Loki's Thor was like Tony's Steve. It was obvious how Loki was jealous of Thor before and during the attack on New York. In a way, it was also obvious how Tony was jealous of Steve.

Somehow Tony didn't feel so alone and betrayed with Loki's hand on his shoulder.

"I-It's fine if you are to reside in the t-towers, Captain Rogers." Loki slowly mumbled, keeping his gaze anywhere but anyone's faces. "Mr. Stark is just overwhelmed. I once again apologize for my intrusion."

Steve watched the villain evenly before slowly nodding his head.

"Geez, Lokes. You can't just give a part of my place away like that." Tony said in a slight joking tone, but everyone could imply otherwise. The frost giant shrunk a little at that. "But fine. I'll show you to your room, Cap'."

"See you around, Captain Rogers," Loki said, taking his hand off Tony's shoulder and heading down the hall to hide out in his room. "Goodbye Ms. Potts."

The three watched as he slipped into his room and gently closed the door. Then they heard the _click_ of the door lock, the low timbre of JARVIS' voice, and something heavy scraping against the floor. Whatever it was, it was pushed against the door as there was a slight bang.

The three gave each other skeptical looks. Steve had a sinking feeling that things were going to be very awkward.


	13. After thoughts

So...Tony's reaction had caught Loki off guard. Really. Loki had no clue Stark was such a ball of pent up burning rage and that he would explode. Though he could justify most of the anger toward Pepper, the rest was questionable. Nevertheless though, he had tried to calm the man down, it worked, and he was able to run away. The frost giant figured it was the perfect time to stay low, especially with another avenger in the towers.

Steve Rogers. Captain America.

He would admit he was surprised with the selection Pepper had made to watch his every move. But at the same time, who else could be there? Bruce Banner was a near perfect choice with a steely calm, but the hulk was another deal. It was too much of a risk for Pepper, so she moved on to the next. Clint Barton? Natasha Romanov? They both were part of SHIELD. That was a definite no.

There was Thor...Loki mentally cringed. His ex-brother wouldn't have accepted the invitation if he found out Loki was at the towers. Their fight was still fresh and the big oaf would want to avoid any additional stress. On top of that he had no time to watch over a mortal and make sure he wasn't drunk while Loki took advantage of that. Not saying Loki would, but everyone silently believed he would make that move. No, Thor had to help manage Asgard.

So that left one more person which was Steve. The supersoldier was strong enough to keep Loki at bay if needed; he had exhibited that skill many times before. From what Loki could guess the captain was also a calm guy, well, if not angered like Bruce. Steve didn't have a hulk though.

But his presence still uneased him. Just like Tony, Steve was a prior enemy of his, and Loki was expecting the soldier to try to get revenge. Stark may not have beaten him to a pulp yet, but would Rogers? What exactly was the man's full personality anyway? He didn't know, and that bothered him. What was under the surface? Was he really just an all-around, good, pure intent guy?

Loki had locked his door and pushed a spare chair in front of it. With that he sunk down in it, pulling his knees to his chest and taking a breath. He looked around his room warily. It had become somewhat comfortable over his stay, but it still felt foreign to him. But he rather be in it that outside at the moment. People were dropping their shit.

He wanted to know what had happened in the span of time that he left. What exactly went down between Pepper and Tony and when did the latter become so bitter? He had noticed the iron man to have a bit darker heart. Of course he would pick up on that. It wasn't just the fact that it was early either. Something just wasn't working and Stark was falling apart from it.

"JARVIS," Loki asked the ceiling, "Is there any way for you to serve food in here?"

"Yes sir, but I don't advise it. Be social."

"I don't believe that's safe, sir."

* * *

Steve had settled himself on the couch, balancing a sketchpad on his lap, a pencil in hand. Pepper had left hours ago; it was now past one o'clock. Tony had retreated to his workshop after getting into another argument with Steve. The captain could hear the faint hum of music, still hard and jarring. The iron man obviously wasn't done with his tantrum and the captain let out a heavy sigh.

Couldn't they just get along? What was Tony's problem with him?

Ever since they met things had been rocky between the two. Of course at the attack they eventually calmed down to a neutral to get the job done. They stayed in a pretty safe zone the couple of times they had to work together right until the time Pepper left Tony. Things just got ugly between them again; in truth it got ugly with everyone. Tony was just not the same without Pepper keeping his life fully balanced. Stark became a lot more irritable, distant, and really didn't care too much about most things.

It had bothered everyone on board the team, and Fury even made a plan to intervene. But after a couple of battles where the iron man was fighting a bit aggressively probably to let off some steam or to get the job done faster so he could go home, Fury stayed quiet. It was more "efficient" but Steve really wasn't surprised Fury wasn't into Tony's actual well-being.

Steve slowly sketched out the skyline, something he did quite often. He was getting better at his art, and he wished he could show someone. He really wanted to draw for a friend, anything, but he didn't really have any. He felt alone most of the days, surrounded by many acquaintances, but barely close. Even though he was usually complimented on his kindness and manners, he didn;t have anyone. He was still out of touch both socially and time wise. He missed the old days, his old friends, Peggy, everything. He'd trade anything to be able to go back in time and not feel so foreign in his own country.

He repositioned his track of thought over to Loki. The Asgardian had looked so different to him. The bulky armor was gone, yes, his hair was longer, of course, but that wasn't all. He had a completely different posture, one that didn't scream arrogance. No, he positioned himself humbly and kept his gaze down. And he was skittish, Steve had watched him jump and shiver as the air rippled with tension. Loki had ran back to his room and locked the door.

Something was off about him. Steve was halfway ready to believe something horrible did happen to Loki to make him act that way. Something bad would only bring a man like him to his knees. But the other half of his reasoning stopped him from getting his guard down. After all, that was how Loki attacked them the first time.


	14. Rise from the ashes

Tony was still an emotional wreck, hours after the encounter. He was still an explosion, reacting violently to everything in his workshop. Most of his distraught energy was focused toward working on his many suits, making improvements a little too fast. He had JARVIS crank up the volume as he worked.

_Pepper ripping out his heart then ignoring him until Loki shows up._

He pulled up some plans and re-drew them.

_Then she gets tired of dealing with him and dumps Latex Glove on him._

He tested a few blasters on his wall. Four holes were scorched right into it, light smoke coming out. He ignored JARVIS' inquiry about his tantrum. The AI should know what was upsetting him, damn it! He did live with him after all. He knew everything that went down in the house.

_Steve was just too perfect._

He would never be like him. At least Tony wasn't selling weapons anymore. Stark Industries was going strong with alternative energy.

_He was going through a downward spiral? Ha!_

"I'm not going through any spiral, JARV! Look, I'm fine!" he yelled, mostly to himself of course.

"Sir-"

"Not now!"

He spent the rest of his evening burning off four months worth of hurt, frustration, all the pent-up feelings he had drank away. It all came rushing out at once, a little overwhelming. He managed to get much done through his meltdown and soon he had to come up with new stuff to do. He finished half of that and finally decided to rest. He fell into a fidgety, anxiety filled sleep which he woke up constantly from in the middle of the night. Eventually he managed to stay asleep, his dreams coming down to a manageable level.

* * *

A great breakdown was all Tony needed. He woke up feeling fine, not the best, but better than usual. He went to his room to get ready for the day. After a nice long hot shower he got dressed and headed to his kitchen for his daily black coffee.

He was surprised when he got there. Piling fresh pancakes onto a plate was Steve. The captain had cooked beautiful pancakes, each one looking golden crispy. The smell in the air was wonderful, a mix of the cakes and coffee that the captain had JARVIS brew ahead of time. Tony could feel his mouth water and stood back and watched his guest for a little while longer.

Somehow he had made many pancakes. To the side was an even bigger plate, staked at least a foot high with the food. Where did he even get that much mix, Tony thought. The only food he stored in the kitchen was takeout, canned food, and frozen dinners.

"Hello Tony," Steve said easily, giving him a hesitant half-smile. "Feeling...any better?"

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to go all PMSy on you." Tony said evenly, hoping the apology didn't sound too rough. Steve took it though.

"It's fine. Sometimes we need a good scream."

"Where did you get all the mix for this? And where did you learn how to use a pan? I thought my kitchen was state of the art." he changed the topic, not wanting to get too deep into that. Steve couldn't help but roll his eyes as he flipped a pancake over in the pan.

"We had pans back then, y'know. And stoves."

"Really?" Tony said sarcastically.

"I made the mix myself though," Steve went on, "I went to the store earlier today."

"It's only eight in the morning."

"I know. How are you up?" Steve joked. "I went at six. Finally got back."

With that the captain took out the last pancakes and fumbled with the stove to turn it off. It had also taken him ten minutes and a tutorial from the neighborhood friendly AI for him to get the thing on, but he wasn't going to tell Tony that. It was pretty embarrassing. He took out a plate and put a stack of three cakes onto it before grabbing the syrup. After a slight nod from Tony, he carefully poured the sticky-sweet maple substance over the cake and stepped back for a second to review his work.

It was a true piece of art. Any chef in a fancy renowned restaurant would be jealous of the skill, Tony decided. He almost didn't want to eat it; it was just too pretty. Steve had him sit down at the table and eat it properly with a fork and knife. Maybe having the elder man around wasn't too bad, Tony thought. Mr. Face of America could sure cook a mean breakfast.

"So, have you seen Loki?" Steve asked tentatively, hovering around the stack of pancakes.

"No. Not since yesterday." Tony shoved a piece of cake into his mouth, the food melting on his tongue.

"Does he always stay holed up in his room?" Steve asked again with the same tone.

"Eh. He's like a cat." he shrugged. "He did come out yesterday though."

Tony inwardly frowned, a bit concerned with Loki for the first time that morning. He halfway forgot he was even there. Had Tony's outburst scarred the poor guy? Loki wasn't in the most stable mental condition either, even worse than Tony he'd bet. Oh no.

"JARVIS," he said. "Can you get Loki to come out here for breakfast? He needs to interact like a normal person would."

"Sure thing."

"Well! Looks like we'll have bonding time. We might as well play chest or uno. I think I have a stack somewhere."

"Is he always so quiet?" Steve asked, but before Tony could answer Loki padded in. He hesitantly stopped a few times, turning slightly as if he wanted to run away. But eventually he made it to the two men.

"Hey Lokes," Tony said with a smile. "Want some pancakes? They are really good. Better than any restaurant in this city."

The captain beamed at Tony's words and quickly got together a plate for the frost giant. Loki quietly sat down, looking like an awkward turtle at the table. Steve joined them shortly afterwards with a sizeable amount on his plate and seated right across from Loki. It made the latter flinch.

"I'm sorry if I scared you yesterday." Tony said after a long awkward pause. Loki simply nodded.

"It's fine."

Another awkward pause at the table. Steve fidgeted, Loki tried to blend into the shadows, and Tony just watched the two.

"So," he said lazily. "what now?"


	15. Next

The towers had settled into some strange calm over the next week. The three had formed a daily routine which was followed pretty well. They would wake up to Steve cooking a breakfast for them. They'd sit at the table, exchange small talk, and move on to whatever they wanted to do for the day. Tony usually went back to sleep then woke around lunch to work in his workshop. Steve would go outside to walk to a park. He'd play basketball with locals, work out, draw, whatever he could to stay active.

Loki would usually blend into the shadows and sulk. Of course he also did things like read, listen to music JARVIS played for him, and watch Steve draw on the couch from afar. He eventually got himself into chess. The frost giant had found a lovely glass set which he would play by himself in his room. But after a few times where he played alone, JARVIS informed Tony, and soon the engineer joined Loki for games. They played almost daily in Loki's room. Tony believed it got his guest to open up towards him just a little more.

Dinner was also always eaten together. They were having more home cooked meals now that Steve lived with them, and they didn't mind. Loki actually welcomed it. As much as takeout seemed convenient, it was often greasy and salty. Steve's dishes were the opposite. They were usually light on the tongue, the flavor rich. It reminded him of Frigga's cooking and he imagined the two exchanging recipes.

* * *

"I'm finished." Tony said as he repositioned himself back on the floor. The chessboard in front of them was nearly empty; they only had a few pieces left. The iron man watched as Loki claimed his king and he lost the game. He shrugged and gave Loki a small smile. He was _good_ at the game, and an excellent challenger.

"Stark," his guest mumbled as he set the king at his side. He continued speaking after Tony gave him a small nod. "Do you miss your father?"

Tony blinked, taken aback by the question. He didn't expect that from Loki - how did he even know about that?

"Of course...yeah. Even though we had our crap going down..."

"Oh."

"Where'd you hear about my dad?"

"I read about it. JARVIS gave me these magazines and you were in them."

That explained it. Though the blasted things were so filled with gossip and usually only half-true.

"Do you miss yours?" Tony asked back. "Even though Odin - that's his name right? - is still pissed, right?"

"Odin isn't my real father actually," Loki said, practically spitting the first word as if it was vile on his tongue.

"Oh yeah," Tony said, remembering snippets of information from the past. "Thor told us you were adopted."

After a moment where Loki was unresponsive, Tony cleared his throat. "Do you know who your real father is?"

"...Yes. H-He left me in the cold to die when I was just born."

They were approaching more iced-over ground, and Tony was scared he might shatter it. It was sad the way Loki would bend his head with eyes clouded with so many emotion. Specks of envy, regret, sadness all seemed to be mixed into the deep green that were Loki's eyes. The iron man could even detect a great deal of self-loathing and that made him feel worse.

"Let's listen to mu-" he tried to change the subject but Loki interrupted him.

"I'm fine." he reassured though his tone was definitely _not_ fine. It was halfway choked and low.

"Uh, okay, well that's good!" Tony stumbled over his words. He was not good at comforting people at all. He had no clue what to say or do. Should he pat him on the shoulder? Give him a hug? Grab some water or just walk away? He resorted to hesitantly putting a hand on the taller man's shoulder just like Loki had done during his tantrum. It seemed to help as Loki let out a heavy breath.

"Well, Lokes, if it makes you feel better, I bet that bag of dicks isn't doing so well at the moment!"

"Of course not..." Loki mumbled, keeping his gaze unfocused and but eyes aimed at his feet. "...I killed him."

Shit. Tony mentally slapped himself. That was _not_ something he should have said. And he felt bad for considering his own daddy issues horrible. He did not know what exactly went down between Loki and his real father, but it was definitely worse than Tony pining over his father not giving him enough attention.

"Well! I think we need to get out the house."

"What?" Loki finally looked Tony in the eyes, confusion all over his face. It was an abrupt change in thought for him.

"Let's get out of here! I haven't been out the tower since you came. Only Spangles has, and it's sad that the old man is getting more time outside than I am!"

He jumped up and pulled on Loki's arm until he was on his feet too. "It's only a couple of hours past twelve! We can have a girls night out, Lokes!"

"We aren't female-"

"We could go shopping, clubbing, shopping while we are clubbing! I'm Tony freaking Stark, we can whatever we want!"

The iron man enthusiastically dragged the Asgardian out to the living room to meet up with the captain resting on the sofa. Though at first his "sudden energy" was faked just for Loki's sake of cheering up, it soon turned genuine for him as he explained a plan to Steve.

* * *

"Capsicle! We can have good old bonding time! First we can go over and shop some, get some new clothes," Tony waved his hand as Steve started piping up about budgets. "All expenses are on me because I have money growing out my toes. Don't worry about any pricing!"

"That's kind of you, Tony, but I really think I should at least pitch in-"

"No! Stop trying to be polite, I got this. We can head on over to a park if you want after hitting some stores. Then we can go to a few clubs."

"Gee, that's swell, but Tony-"

"Close your virgin mouth! It'll be fun," Tony reassured. Steve just looked shocked and frightened at the thought of them even going near a club. "We just dance a little, have some drinks, and come home! Boom! Simple."

"Okay, Tony. Just...no girls or fonduing or anything nasty."

"Fondue?" Tony chuckled. "Fine. But only if it's not too late."

"And... are you okay with all of this, Loki?" the blonde turned to him, raising an eyebrow at the man quietly sitting next to him on the couch. Steve gave him a slightly pleading look, hoping he'd also decline the part about going to a club. But Loki just nodded, throwing his opinion in to satisfy the two.

"I'm fine. I really haven't explored the more social part of Midgard in a long time. I guess...it'll be entertaining."

"Oh yeah! Loki knows how to have fun!" Tony shouted, a wide smile on his face. "I'm going to call up Happy."

Steve frowned but slowly nodded.

"Hey, Spangles," Tony said as he started to call Happy. "At least it's just a club. Next time we should go to a strip club. A _male_ one."

He winked and Steve blushed cherry red.


	16. Shop shop shoppp

"I don't know about this though, Stark." Loki said as Tony eagerly started pushing him towards the elevator.

"What? Don't tell me your going to be a lame old prude like Cap, Lokes." Tony ignored the captain's quick, "I heard that!" from across the room. Instead he focused on Loki, giving him an easy smile.

"No, it's not that." Loki reassured. "I just think I'll be recognized."

"Oh...yeah." Tony blinked. He had forgotten that the rest of the world still hated Loki for his attack a year ago, and they weren't aware of his current situation. There would be plenty of paparazzi, police, and angry citizens on their hands once Loki was recognized. That wasn't good. SHIELD would be all over Tony's ass within minutes. He frowned for a second, thinking of what they could do.

"I think I know how I can fix that," he said, then dragged Loki off to the direction of the community clothes box. He quickly rifled through the thing before taking out a few pairs of sunglasses. He handed a black pair to his guest. "Put that on. I'm sure they'll still think you're familiar though. We'll get you a hair while we're out, if that's okay."

"My...hair?" Loki replied, already putting on the glasses.

"Yeah. It's getting a little too long, don't you think?"

Loki supposed that was true by Midgardian standards. The black locks of his were well past his shoulders and a little too wavy. It was getting pretty heavy and a fresh haircut would be nice.

"Fine," he said after a few moments of Tony looking eagerly at him. "But-"

"You know what? You'll be fine Lokes." the iron man patted his shoulder reassuringly. Then he reached into his pocket, and pulled out a small metal object. "You know what? Here, hold on to this."

Loki stretched open his hand and the shorter man pressed the small object right into his palm. It was a comfortable warm thing bent in a peculiar oval. It didn't look lethal, so he guessed it wasn't a weapon of any sort.

"This is a paperclip, Lokes. It's a creature usually used to hold paper together. However, I found this one all alone and sad. I guess he just didn't have any paper to hold or a family." The frost giant listened to every word intently, sympathy for the paperclip growing in his eyes. It was so cute, Tony thought. He was almost like a small child. "I was taking care of him for a while, but I think you'll do a better job of it. How about you keep him safe while we're out?"

"I-I - thank you, Stark. I don't think I'm worthy-"

"Shh! You'll do fine."

"T-thank you. I shall perform to my greatest potential." Loki stood straighter, attempting to look determined. He held the clip tight to his chest and nodded.

"Thank you." Tony smiled.

* * *

The trio were picked up by Happy minutes later. Steve and Tony chatted with the driver casually, while Loki kept himself unnoticeable as possible. It was normal behavior for him, and luckily Happy didn't say much about it. Instead he drove them on to a lovely shopping center near a boardwalk before pulling off. Tony eagerly led the way to the first store. It was an upscale shop for men's formal wear.

In there he insisted on buying everyone a new suit. He had to scold Steve a few times about being extremely frugal ("Jesus Cap! I'm a _billionaire,_ everything in here is pocket change for me! Just pick whatever you want!") but eventually the captain opened up.

After spending a good two hours trying things on, the men finally checked out. Loki had picked out a couple of suits that were slightly similar to the one he wore in Germany. He had even found a couple of scarves to go with them that were soft earthly tones. Tony had thrown in a tie for him with a tiny skull pattern on it as a joke; Loki couldn't help but roll his eyes. Steve stuck with more classic suits, nothing too eccentric. He still insisted on staying basic and paying for at least a portion of his new additions to his wardrobe. He payed only twenty dollars of the four hundred rung up for his clothes.

Tony just bought himself more ties in many different patterns in the end. He figured he could just get a custom one made later.

They moved on to three more stores, buying a pretty decent amount of stuff. They had to get Happy to put most of their shopping bags in the trunk though. It filled up most of the space, and Steve suggested they go home and rest. Of course Tony waved his hand and told him the night didn't even begin!

He took Loki to a barber shop and got his hair cut. Really it was just trimmed back to the middle of his neck, just about the length he had before Thor got himself banished. Tony gave him a whistle once he was done.

"Lookin' good, Lokes." Loki couldn't help but smile.

They hit about ten more stores. The captain and the iron man noticed Loki picked out loads of leather. Pants, jackets, belts, all made of leather. Not that Tony was complaining, hey, Loki had a body for it. He could wear it if he wanted to. But he still found it interesting. Steve just shrugged and suggested it was because of Asgardian fashion or just preference. Tony just agreed. Steve himself piled on simple things, nice and classic. It was just their styles.

* * *

Once their round of shopping until they dropped concluded, Tony suggested they eat then head towards a club. Steve groaned, still not wanting to go anywhere near one.

They got a quick bite from a hotdog stand before heading on out to a nice place. It was a newer club, upscale, one Tony had yet to go to. The building had a few neon lights out in front, a bouncer guarding the door, and a few women walking in.

Somehow Tony ended up having a night out with two unlikely people. To his left was the straightest virgin prude on the planet. To his right, an ex-genocidal medieval alien with so many family issues he could write off a sitcom about it. And smack dab in the middle of the trio was Tony Stark himself, a drunkard genius with a few screws undone himself. Oh yes, this was going to be an _interesting_ night. He hoped he had enough Advil for the morning.


	17. Round One

Tony had made quick work of getting them both in. He tipped off a few people in order to get Loki in without an i.d. Once they stepped into the dark room, it seemed as if the party just started. Neon lights flickered on all across the room, showing silhouettes of people dancing. The music was so loud, it vibrated the whole room, serving as a heartbeat for the party. Tony immediately mingled in with the rest of the dancers, simply telling them the bar was in another room. They followed his pointed finger.

It was indeed in another room, this one filled with dim light. The music was faded into the background, and they could hear each other speak. They took a seat on a couple of stools in front of the bar. A kind bartender who looked a little too young nodded his blonde head at them before running off to complete orders.

The two sat in awkward silence, listening to the muffled words of the music. Steve seemed lost in his own head, faraway worry sketched over his face. Loki was off in his own imagination, but he noticed the foreign expression on the captain's face.

"Steven, I don't understand," Loki began, finger twitching a little. "Why don't you buy yourself a drink? Drown whatever's bothering you away like other men?"

"Because I can't." the captain responded, a dark and lost look growing.

"I wouldn't think less of you if you did."

"It's not that, Loki." Steve sighed. "I just can't. I can't physically get drunk. I tried."

That started a long of silence. Loki simply looked down to the floor, the gravity of Steve's statement sinking in. Steve couldn't help but shift uncomfortably. He didn't like making anyone feel unpleasant, especially over something about him.

"Well, everyone has their demons." Steve finally said, and took some money out of his pocket. He paid for a couple of drinks and slid one over to Loki. "Only one by the way. I don't want a second Tony running around."

"What happened?" Loki said after he took a hesitant sip of the liquid. It tasted horrible, much more bitter than any Asgardian spirit he was used to. He only took a few more sips out of kindness; he didn't want to completely waste the horrible thing.

"Nasty, isn't it?" Steve joked before moving on to the more serious matter. "It's a long story."

"We have time." Loki said.

"Fine."

The captain began his story of how he became Captain America. He described the time period, what he was like before the serum, and the procedure that changed his life. He told of the brilliant minds behind it and then moved on to him fighting the enemy. The whole time Loki listened and nodded his head, following the events easily. He imagined everything happening to Steve and understood where he was coming from. Steve quickly wrapped up Bucky's death and waking up in the twenty-first century with SHIELD.

"And then I was called to duty again. I met up with the rest of the Avengers and here we are." Steve finished up with a sad smile before gulping down half of his drink. Everything had happened so fast for Steve that he was finally really catching up with it. The familiar setting reminded him of a night where he tried so hard to forget everything, at least for a night.

"I'm sorry."

"It's fine now. Why did you do it, if you don't mind me asking?"

"I-I..." Loki began, nervously twitching. He didn't want to talk about that, at least not yet. "A lot happened. I was just angry and jealous."

"Oh." Was all Steve said in reply.

"I'm really sorry."

"Don't do it again. SHIELD might get their hands on you, and you don't want that."

"I'm lucky I didn't land in any of their premises."

"True." Steve said, waiting for him to elaborate.

"I don't remember too much about the night I arrived at the towers, Steven. But," Loki pushed the glass away. "Thor is responsible for it."

"Thor?"

"Yes. I spent a good amount of time sitting in a cell. Odin said it was so I could cool down, and once all my negative energy was gone, I could rejoin their ranks. I knew it was too kind of the old man back then," Loki's voice grew rough. "The old man changed his mind. He changed my sentence to time on Midgard as a mortal. I'm supposed to learn love and humility, then I'll be sent back to Asgard. He had Thor personally 'escort' me. He knew we had a huge fight, but he did it anyway. Thor probably purposely threw me there and Odin was okay with everything."

"So, he took all your magic?"

"Yes. He'll give it back upon my return to Asgard...but I don't want to return. I'll just get it back on my own."

"What a douche! Damn, worse parent of the year award!" came Tony's voice.

Both Steve and Loki jumped at Tony's sudden appearance. It had caught them both off guard and they forgot they were in a place where anyone could listen in on their conversation.

"Thanks...Stark?" he replied, not sure if he was drunk or not.

The iron man perched himself on the stool on the other side of Loki. His hair was slicked back with sweat and he looked slightly out of breath. He quickly wiped some sweat from his forehead before grabbing Loki's drink and downing it quickly. He put the empty glass back in its place before turning towards his companions.

"Woah! I like danced my ass off, and I'm finally getting my first glass! Usually I can't see my toes by now."

"Stark, that was...my drink." Loki said, raising an eyebrow. There was no way Tony wasn't drunk.

"I know. A little too bitter, I don't imagine you as a beer man." Tony said before chatting off about different types of alcohol and personalities. He was talking too fast and excitedly for either of his companions to follow, so they just drowned him out.

"You shouldn't be too hard on yourself, Loki." Steve said quietly, not wanting Tony to know they were ignoring him. "Me and Tony can see a lot of emotional things have gone down for you. If we were in the same circumstances, we'd feel the same way."

"But I'm _not_ a good person, Steven. Don't convince yourself that I'm the hero." he mumbled. "I really _am_ bad and a _monster_."

"No, you're wrong, Loki." Steve insisted. "You're not a bad person. You've just been pushed to do bad things."

"But I'm still not a good person."

"No. You're just Loki." Steve agreed, wrapping up their conversation.

And Loki couldn't help but think about that. _Just Loki_. Was he neither black or white, just in the middle? Or was that just something the Midgardians were starting to convince themselves of? But then again, they didn't know the full story of his life. Loki hadn't told Tony about his true heritage, how he was a completely different species from Thor.

"Oh uhm, I don't know. Fine, if you...insist ma'am." Loki was interrupted from his thoughts by Steve's hesitant voice. The blonde had that same scared-nervous expression he wore when Tony first suggested the club. It was kind of comical now as a young lady was pulling on his arm. She brushed her brown curls out her eyes, giving him an eager smile. "Come on, just one dance!"

"Get some Steve!" Tony yelled, making cat calls when Steve turned toward him for some help. Loki just shrugged his shoulders, not quite sure what the big deal was. One dance with a lady wouldn't hurt. Finally the blonde gave up and followed the girl out to the dance floor.

Tony and Loki were left alone.


	18. Round Two

"Let's have a real drink, kay' Lokes?" Tony asked after a moment of silence between the two. "Ready for round two?"

"Round two? Of what?" Loki asked and couldn't help but return the smile Tony was giving him. The iron man looked like a child who was just given candy. A playful glint was in his eyes and Loki couldn't help but feel it flowing into his own mood.

"Bonding, talking about our past, crying on each other over it, and so on." Tony rolled his eyes and waved his hand as if dismissing it. "Cap' was pretty deep, yeah. But I'm fun. If you hang out with me, we have the best times in the world. That's something you can't get from spangling spandex."

"And what is your definition of 'fun', Stark? Enlighten me."

"How bout' we start with some shots, see how much you can take?"

"Mm, tempting," Loki said, actually taking a moment to think it over. "But I think we should listen to Steven and not get carried away. Being too drunk to see him would be problematic."

"You're assuming I would get drunk from it," Tony countered, crossing his arms. "Which I assure you, with all the drinking I do, _I won't_."

"That does not make any sense! You were drunk before!" the frost giant's tone rose but playful still.

"No, I wasn't! I was just-"

"Intoxicated. You shouldn't do that."

"Oh please, I'm Tony Stark!"

"And you're point?"

"I can do _anything_. Holding some bubbly drinks in is the least of my abilities. I fight crime a lot!" He waved over the bartender. "Hey, give me the best you got, shot glasses, and a lime. I'm going to show Lokes here that I can handle myself."

Before long a tray of shot glasses were in front of them. A nice ripe lime was sitting sliced open at the edge of the tray. Tony looked at it, slightly impressed at the speed of the tender. He deserved a tip for that.

"Well, you going to join me or just watch me like a wallflower?" The iron man asked, taking a shot then sucking on a slice of lime. "Good beer. Lots of fun you're missing out on, y'know."

"You're stupid." Loki chuckled, watching him, quite amused for a moment. "But please. How about you take one more and call it a day?"

"Fine. Only cause you're being a wimp. We're still drinking though."

* * *

It was countless more, Loki couldn't recall the number at all.

All he knew was one hour Tony and him were jesting around and the next they were on the dance floor. Somehow the mortal found a way to talk and use a clever tongue to distract the frost giant from watching his intake. The poor ex-villain had let his guard down so much and was so carried away, he didn't notice Tony was drunk until he stumbled over to the door. Loki himself had sipped a little bit of alcohol in that amount of time, so he wasn't exactly intoxicated. There was faint buzz at the back of his mind, slightly slowing down his thought process. It wasn't enough to render him useless in making decisions though, so he should have known better.

He was trying to catch up with Tony who had weaved his way around so easily and was now dancing like a madman. After avoiding a few stranger's limbs, Loki finally managed to grab ahold of the iron man.

"Stark! We're going back to the bar now, okay? We are going to wait for Steven's return then we'll go on home." he yelled over the music.

"Dude, Steve totally got laid. Hey guys! Steve's probably not a virgin anymore! Ohhhh!" Tony screamed, getting a few claps in return from strangers. "My old baby is finally growing up."

He wiped a fake tear from his eye and Loki couldn't help but roll his own eyes. "Stark. We need to go."

"Sorry, babe, but I rather dance. Why don't we just dance, Lokes? Dance and have more stuff to drink?"

"Well, that's exactly why I want you to come back with me." Loki said, taking a different route of persuasion. He hoped his skills in talking did not get too rusty over the year he spent in isolation. It seemed to work just fine then as Tony's eyes widened.

"Really?" he asked, voice heavily slurred.

"Really. Just you and me, drinking heartily and making merry."

"Cause' we're bros now."

"...Right."

Loki held out his hand and Tony eagerly took it. The frost giant let out a sigh of relief, pleased with how that turned out. He started pulling Tony back towards the bar, weaving around people. But then the music changed, the beat stronger and faster. A few shrill screams could be heard and soon more people were getting on the dance floor, packing the place up tight.

The dancers swayed back and forth like an unbroken horse, and soon Loki was jostled away from Tony. The music picked up, tempo much faster and bass resonating. Strobe lights went off all around him, causing him to be disoriented. Before long he found himself in a huddle of females. The were clearly drunk as their movements were too off balance and one even danced by waving a bottle around in the air. Loki certainly preferred the company of the iron man over a bunch of drunken vixens so he started edging his way on out. He was not fast enough. Before he made it a foot out the way, one grabbed his arm and pulled him back in. The girl flicked her curly flame-colored hair out her eyes before giving him her best seductive smile and dancing towards him. It was probably just her red hair, as nothing else resembled her, but the girl reminded him of the black widow and his stomach churned.

He held out his hands in the universal signal for "stop" once she tried to get close to him. She did just that and the seductive look faltered. The music finally calmed down then, leaving a small five minute break for commercials and food. The other women walked away, giggling and pointing over his shoulder in a drunken manner. Loki let out a relieved breath, happy he could search for Stark now without any more trouble. The drunk shorter man was probably just wandering around looking for him. He hoped he could find him without too much conflict.

However, the red-head stopped him from going anywhere. When he tried to walk away again, she put a hand on his arm and he gritted his teeth. He didn't have time to flirt with some random Midgardian!

"I haven't seen you around here before. You're new?" she asked, resuming her former smile.

"Yes. I'm here with my friends, one of which I need to find." he said, wiggling his arm as a warning in her hand.

"Well, maybe we can hook up later-"

"I'm not interested." he snapped, his patience out. He jerked his arm away and glared. She let out a sigh, her expression cracking once again.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," Loki said. "I'm not interested, I apologize. I must find my friend now."

She heaved a large breath again, her whole composure slipping. Her shoulders sagged in defeat, gaze slipping to the floor. She bit her lip nervously and her hands flitted around her as if she didn't know what to do. It was such a dramatic change from the woman keen on getting his attention before. Loki felt a pain of guilt, wondering if she had low confidence and he just shattered her only hope of taking risks. But he had to go, so he swallowed whatever other thoughts he had about it.

"Sir," she began as he turned heel for what seemed like the thousandth time. "Can you please do me a favor?"

He raised his eyebrow, willing her to continue and swiftly.

"Look, I'm the daughter of the owner of the club, okay? And see, I work here and sometimes my friends to party and stuff," she said hurriedly. Loki had no clue where she was going with it. "And they like all have boyfriends, yeah? And they really, really, really want me to ask out guys and get one too! And they've pushed me and made a bet I wouldn't get anyone's number this week. So yeah, I've spent all night doing just that, but I really don't want to anymore."

"Then...do not? Your honor is not at too much of a risk if you have a week left. Rest and continue tomorrow. I'm sure other men will be interested."

"But that's the thing! I don't want guys to be interested! I don't like men! At all!" she threw her hands up in the air, her mane of hair tossing every which way. "I'm a lesbian, damnit!"

Loki blinked, still not quite sure what she was getting it. Her situation seemed like a simple fix to him. Either she simply tell everyone she was homosexual and to drop it, or she could just find a male to cover it up. The former would be the most simple and straightforward. He had no clue what Midgardian culture was like towards the subject, but on Asgard, though not preferred, they wouldn't bat an eye at that.

"Tell them you're a lesbian then."

"You're right. I will."

"Then why did you need to ask me?" his eye twitched.

"I needed someone to tell first!" she huffed. "Coming out isn't easy, especially when I got no other friends who aren't pushing me towards men. But first, give me a fake number."

She held out her wrist and shoved a pen into his hands. He looked stupidly, not quite understanding what she meant by 'fake number'. He didn't know...any fake numbers?

"Just write seven zeroes."

He did so without question, not wanting to seem too alien. "I must go now."

"I can help you, y'know. For helping me."

"Sure." Loki said, not really caring and wanting to get a move on. He turned and started walking, not caring if she trailed behind him or not. Of course, she found some way to keep up with his long strides. "Hey!" she yelled, tugging on his sleeve to stop him for a second.

"What?" he snapped, thoroughly annoyed. He hoped she had a good reason-

"Aren't you going to tell me what he looks like so I can find him?"


	19. Get Lucky

Tony was really enjoying himself. Really.

He had found himself in a nice corner of the club, nicely dancing with a group of excited women who really knew how to party. They were very flexible, dancing as if they did it for a living. Tony kept up with each move they made though, easily sliding into the beat of the music. He had gone through this kind of routine many times before, so it was easy as breathing air.

Arrive at a club? Check.

Drink to get drunk? Check.

Dance his ass off? Check.

Get laid? In progress.

In his drunken state he had pushed his friends to the back of his brain. A few minutes after he started dancing, his mind went to autopilot and shifted into routine with ease. He forgot that he supposed to stick with the Cap and Loki. No, they were definitely the last thing on his mind as he was in front of some attractive females. Sorry, their wonderfully curvy bodies took priority at that moment. Well, even though Loki was pretty handsome...

Tony got closer to a couple of them and they responded just alike. The three exchanged kisses, a bit of dialogue, and soon were headed for the closest door. Tony had almost reached it when a large body blocked his path. The iron man ran straight into the person and backed away with a frown. He focused his eyes on the blonde glaring down at him.

It was Steve freakin' Rogers.

"Tony," the captain began, eyes totally judging him. "Where are you going?"

"Dudddeee, this isn't cool." Tony slurred, attempting to move him aside. Steve was messing up his groove here. Didn't he have some girl to dance with?

"You're drunk," Steve shook his head, frustration in his voice. "I thought I told you guys not to drink!"

"Mama Murica', that's not my problem. Go away, I'm trying to escort these lovely ladies here out."

"Where's Loki?"

"Low-key?" Tony finally managed to get Steve to scoot aside enough so that he could open the door. "Check the other door, I'm sure it's lower for you."

"Tony-"

"Buh-bye!" And with that Tony rushed out the club with a couple of ladies with his arms. Steve tried to chase after him for a moment before realizing that shouldn't be his priority. He needed to find Loki. God bless the poor ex-villain, he was probably lost or sulking in a corner. The captain let out a sigh before facing the rest of the bustling club. He needed less stress; his back was starting to hurt.

* * *

"You're friends with _Tony Stark_?!" the fire-headed girl shrieked, flailing her arms with excitement. They were perched back at the bar, Loki sipping on a drink to soothe his poor nerves. The two had wandered around, asking people about Tony and trying to find him. They had no such luck (a few men even bumped into him really hard) and after about an hour Loki declared they take a break. The girl had chattered all the way around the club and he was thoroughly annoyed. Though her help was a tad useful as she could get employees to do her bidding, it wasn't worth it.

"Yes." he merely said.

"Oh my GOD!" she shrieked again. "Tony Stark is in the club? Iron man? He helped save the world a year ago, y'know?"

"Yes." Loki said again, looking down at his feet at the mention of the events that took place last year.

"How do you know him?! How did you guys become friends?"

"I broke some of his stuff," Loki took a big gulp of his drink before finally pushing it aside. He didn't want to end up like Stark. "Payed a debt."

"And...what was your name again?"

"What was yours?" Loki asked, avoiding her question.

"Touche. I'm Elizabeth. Liz for short, yeah?"

" 'Yeah'."

"And who are you?"

"Rudolph." Loki said easily, quickly recalling one of the names Tony called him before.

"Lier."

Loki simply gave her a small smile.

* * *

Steve finally decided to head back toward the bar once he did a quick search of the dance floor. No, Loki was trampled underneath anyone, in any corner, or even dancing. The captain doubted the man would be that social anyway. He had only recently opened to the captain after all. The only person the guy seemed to speak to comfortably was Tony. The two were pretty similar and had lived together longer than with Steve.

The captain did a quick look around the room and spotted the familiar black hair. What a relief.

He made his way quickly towards his roommate feeling so relieved that they could finally head _home_. Steve was so out of place in the club setting and his social skills weren't really up to par with the time period. The girl that had dragged him off earlier seemed to think his awkwardness was cute though, and she did give him her cellular phone number. The blonde had hesitantly pocketed it.

"Loki!" Steve called out. Loki nearly jumped in surprise but reflected the cap's own relieved expression.

"Captain Rogers! Stark is missing." Loki said hurriedly, shifting so he could stand up.

"No, it's fine. He left us."

"What?"

"Tony left with some girls earlier." Steve narrowed his eyes. "He was _drunk_."

"I'm aware of his intoxication and take full responsibility for it."

"Loki, I-"

"Your name is Loki?" Liz interrupted, eyes flicking between the two men. Steve didn't even see her. He mumbled a quick greeting to her before jerking his head toward the exit. That was the universal sign for " _let's get out of here"_.

"Goodbye Lady Elizabeth. Thank you for your assistance." Loki quickly said, heading toward the door with Steve right behind him. It only took a few moments for Liz to connect the dots. Pale skin, black hair, cheekbones, a strange way of speaking, strange accent...

"Oh my God, you're the Loki who killed-"

The door slammed shut before she could even finish her sentence.


	20. Reflect

"I still can't believe how irresponsible this looks!" Steve said, slipping into the cab right next to Loki. He gave the driver directions back to the towers before continuing his mini-rant. "What were you two thinking?! Wait, I already know Tony wasn't thinking anything!"

Loki silently sulked, keeping his gaze out the window to avoid having to look at the captain's frustrated face.

"But I expected you both to still be there when I got back. I mean, you were with him, I trusted at least _you_ would watch everything! You know," he continued, letting the steam out of system, "You have to be more careful! Those girls...you don't know where they're from. They could have some diseases you can never get rid of! Or you could get kidnapped! Or what if that woman recognized you earlier-"

"I'm sorry Steve. My deepest apologies, I won't leave the towers again, and I won't get too comfortable." Loki mumbled quietly. Whatever Steve was going to say next, he dropped that instant. That was the end of his lecturing, at least for Loki. He momentarily forgot how sensitive the frost giant was and how he should take it easy on him.

"It's fine. I'm sorry for just going off there," he sighed. "I was just so worried."

"Oh."

"Well...it's over now. You...still had fun today though, right?" he hoped not all of their day together was not so tragic to the other man.

"The majority," Loki finally faced the blonde. "But Tony abandoning us..."

"Hey. It's not really your fault." the captain clasped his shoulder reassuringly. "Pepper said she could barely keep him down. And Pepper...well, she's a pretty strong person."

The two settled in silence as the cab made it's way slowly through traffic. They watched people pass by on the streets, busy as ever. It was very interesting; no one seemed to ever sleep. While watching a particular group of young adults though, Loki decided to speak again.

"Steven..."

"Yes?"

* * *

Tony woke up to an empty bed and a pounding headache. Just like usual, he concluded, waiting for his vision to sharpen. The lights in his room turned on when he heaved himself out of bed and made his way to the bathroom. He took a nice hot shower, some medicine for his head, and got dressed in his usual attire for staying home. It took him until he was squeezing toothpaste onto a brush that he remembered what exactly happened last night.

Oh shit.

Him and Loki were talking, weren't they? He was being stupid, managed to slip around Loki, got drunk, got laid. He had _tricked_ the ultimate trickster. Played him like a ken doll and boom! And...he had left his two friends there. It was probably the first time both of them went clubbing and he left them to fend for themselves. Just traded them off for a pair of temporary women.

_Oh shit_. Tony was the worst friends in the world. He brushed his teeth as fast as he could and took another pill for good measure. With a sigh, he asked JARVIS if the two had made it home safely. When the AI responded positively, he relaxed a knot and left his room.

He was greeted by a real sight, one he couldn't pay a billion dollar to see, he bet. No one would believe him unless he took pictures.

The two women he had taken to his towers the night before were seated at his bar, chatting away with Loki. The male himself was perched on the counter, and the real sight to see. Crossing his long, bare legs, Loki rested one hand on his thigh. He was wearing no pants, just a pair of black boxers covered in skulls; Tony had bought it to match the tie he got for him. Moving up, he quickly noticed the frost giant was not wearing a shirt underneath one of his leather jackets.

The jacket was jet black and pure leather. It's collar was turned upward as if Loki came out of one of those cliche movies with a bad boy that stole ladies in the middle of the night. The two pockets on either side were nearly invisible if not for a small zipper in the corner. Tony bet the thing had interior pockets too. The jacket fitted his bare chest well though, unzipped only a quarter of the way, exposing a few light scars across his skin.

Loki's other hand held one of Tony's expensive bottles of scotch. This snapped Tony right out of his inspection and he raised his eyebrows as a question.

"The morn has arrived, Stark." Loki said, his voice...a little cheerful?

"What's going on...?"

"Oh! On my way out here to get breakfast, I ran into these _lovely ladies!_ " Loki said in his jolly tone. "And since they are our _guests here_ I invited them over for some quick merry-making before they continue on with their day. You've come at the right time, actually. We were just now talking about _how lovely you are_ , Stark."

"Well, that's nice, but we're busy today, remember? We got that-"

"Don't be silly, Stark! We must be hospitable to our guests and not _abandon them_." _  
_

"Loki-"

"Oh my gosh, Tony," one of the girls spoke up, smiling wide. "You didn't tell us your room mate was sooo cute!"

"Such a gentleman." the other winked at Loki who reluctantly smiled back.

"Thanks...uh ladies-"

"Lady Scarlett and Lady Victoria." Loki finished for him, this time sending a black stare towards Tony. The latter signaled for him to leave the room for a second. Loki simply stared at him, acting as if he didn't understand.

"I hope you don't mind us talking for a second," Tony said eventually, walking out the room for Loki to follow. "Be right back!"

"What the _hell_ was that, Lokes? You're crampin' my style, man." Tony said in a hushed tone, definitely not pleased. "Do you understand what a one-night stand is? Don't you guys have that on your planet?"

"Of course they have those on Asgard, Stark."

"Then why are they still here, Lokes? I thought we were bros!" Tony said, waving his hands animately as he spoke.

"'Bros'?! We are not _brothers,_ Stark!" Loki snarled back, tone totally devoid of whatever fake tone he mustered minutes before. "First, we do not share the same parentage!"

"So!" Tony shot back, still keeping his voice hushed. "And that's not what it means-"

"Second, Stark," Loki continued on as if he never spoke. "A real _brother_ wouldn't have left me there! He wouldn't have left me or Steven wandering around, scared that we lost you!"

Tony was finally quiet.

"Something serious could've happened to us, Tony! Something could have happened to me," Loki finally brought his voice back down to a whisper. "What you did was very Thor-like, Tony. He would do something like that, leave me alone when I shouldn't be, and just disregard it later. Please don't be like him again."

Tony nodded, letting the gravity of the situation fully sink in. He felt like a major douche bag, that's how bad he felt. The purpose of having Loki with him was to try to help him feel better, not worse. And he'd really have to drop some of his habits if he wanted to keep that goal. It would be hard, but the end goal was much more important. Goodness, he was just so irresponsible.

But then...something dawned on him. Did Loki...use his first name? And not his last? That was some improvement, possibly a milestone for them. He inwardly smiled at the fact that they were finally on first-name basis, but wanted to punch himself for how they got there. But he didn't mention the name to the other man, just in case it was just some type of slip of tongue and they hadn't gone anywhere at all.

"I'm sorry."

"Forgiven. Now, I think it's time for these ladies to depart." Loki started edging his way back.

"Hey...do you like them something?" Tony hesitantly asked. Loki bursted out in laughter for a quick moment.

"No," he said between breaths. "They bore me. I much prefer the company of the 'paperclip' as the creature is called. He's an observant fellow that does not make much noise."

Tony smiled.


	21. Dooop

"Dear ladies, these are now yours. Please enter the elevator and JARVIS will help you with your departure."

"Hey! That's my collection of _expensive_ scotch, and I-"

"But Tony!" Loki gently pushed the iron man back onto his bar stool with a hand on his shoulder while passing along the case of alcohol to the women. He gave the other man a mocking expression and adopted an innocent tone. "We have no need of this anymore as we won't be drinking it! It is only best if we give it to those who will use it well."

"Use it well my ass," Tony muttered but Loki continued on as if he never spoken.

"Here, have a bag to carry that!" Loki kindly passed over a plastic bag before waving goodbye to the ladies. "Farewell."

The women giggled and left the towers with all the alcohol they could carry under their arms or on their backs. Definitely heavy, definitely a lot of booze, but barely a dent in the almost endless supply of bottles Tony kept. Loki sighed and decided to push the problem of alcohol to the side for the time being. He would have to consult with Steve again about that.

* * *

"Not cool," Tony remarked after a moment of silence. "That was taking it too far."

"No," Loki said, straightening up and brushing imaginary dust off the counter. "Steven suggested it. We both agree a smaller supply to the beverages would definitely help with your alcoholism. We discussed it in the 'taxi cab'."

"Hm. At least you're supportive." Tony said. "But that costed a shit load of cash. Most of the stuff here is the good, old, expensive stuff."

"You can purchase more after I'm gone from the store. Besides that, you're wealthy."

Tony couldn't help but snort and chuckle at that.

"No, no, no, Rudolph. You can't just walk into Walmart and ask for some scotch like that. No, that shit came from private auctions from Scotland. Like, it's really old. Before your granny even set foot on this earth old and made from the purest wheat or rye or whatever. And then it sat in an oak- well, you get my point." He waved his hands around eccentrically. Loki simply blinked before nodding slowly.

"I see. We'll just have to auction off the rest of your collection then."

"What?! Uh, _collection_? I can't do that to my babies!"

"There's no way you can consume so much alcohol!" Loki argued. "You have a whole _floor_ dedicated to it."

"I'm not going to drink it all! Most of the collection is just there. As a collection."

"How vain."

"Like you're one to talk-" Stark stopped midway through his sentence, head clicking back a ways in the conversation. "What do you mean by 'when you're gone'?"

Loki tilted his head ever so slightly and his brows came down in confusion. "You expect me...to be here forever?"

"I was under the impression that you weren't going to leave soon, yes."

"I'm not," the frost giant sighed. "Not this week. Perhaps next. I need to move on, you know."

"'Move on'? From what, me?" Tony's heart plummeted and he wasn't entirely sure why he immediately reacted that way. "You're leaving me too?"

"No," Loki reassured, tone very reassuring. Tony's shoulders relaxed. He didn't even know he had tensed up so much. "I just need to start searching."

"Searching...for what-" And then the iron man was interrupted by a different british voice.

"Sir, receiving a call from Dr. Bruce Banner." JARVIS chirped and added as if it were an afterthought, "I'm very sorry for the interruption but he said it was urgent."

Tony made a quick gesture toward the other man in the room. They'd pick up that conversation later. Loki nodded, looking a bit nervous at the ceiling though.

"Accept call," Tony said and waited for JARVIS' reply before speaking. "Green and Mean, long time no speak. What do I owe you the pleasure of?"

"Stark?" came the doctor's incredibly soft voice. It was _such_ a contrast to the hulk. "I'm sorry for not keeping closer contact. SHIELD was too close for comfort."

"Aren't they always?" came Stark's quick reply. "What disaster do they want us to clean up this time?'

"Actually," the doctor's voice sounded sheepish this time. "There is no urgent news or emergency."

"Isn't that cute. You just wanted to hear my voice."

"Best thing in the world," Bruce drawled on sarcastically. "No, you wouldn't have picked it otherwise. But hey...I was wondering if I could use your lab. I got some pretty cool research here and I think you'll like it."

That was very true. Tony rarely answered any calls from anyone really. He usually told JARVIS to ignore everyone, tell them he's busy, use his real life model to take messages, whatever. The only way to really reach him was through declaring an emergency that he just _had_ to come to. But not too many really did that either. He guessed they didn't think it was worth it. They were kind of right.

"Hm, nope. No thank you."

"Tony."

"Nope. I'm really busy." he insisted.

"Tony, look. I know it's been really hard for you for a while, but you really need some company. It's not healthy to be there for such a long time by yourself and doing...well what you do. And," Bruce continued, "Some _science_ _buddy time_ would be nice."

"You _really_ want to get into my lab, Green Machine."

"I really want to help. And okay, maybe some collaboration would benefit me in this project."

"Fine." Tony finally budged. Though he really wanted to tell Bruce that he had a full house already, he supposed spending some time with the scientist would help him stop his worrying. And...possibly he could be a good addition to the little bro group they had going on at the towers. With Bruce, they'd have two calm-natured people to balance out the more messed-up (him and Loki). He could also maybe help Loki with whatever he was trying to find. He'd just have to figure out how to make this work... "But...I'm going to have to go over some stuff when you get here. Promise me you won't hulk out."

"Why would I hulk out?"

"You okay with coming next week?"

"Sure."

And with that the iron man quickly concluded his phone conversation and turned to the frost giant who was still in the room, still sitting on the bar counter. He looked terrified.

"You invited the beast..." Loki shuffled around. "...to our home?"

"Bruce is a cool guy," Tony said.

"He will surely kill me!"

"No, no, not Bruce! I can't answer for the hulk, but Bruce is chill."

"It won't end well."

"Trust me. If we play it right, he could even help you find..whatever it is you're looking for."

"A way to regain my magic."

"Sure." Tony answered.


	22. Check!

"You don't have to leave at all. You can live here with me, you know."

"I can't stay forever, Tony. If I did, one day I'd wake up, come to my senses, and realize you're gone." A faraway look came to Loki's eyes, a sadness crossing his face. For a moment he looked many centuries older and much wiser. He bore the face of one who'd seen a thousand battles and millions of stars. "If I stayed here forever, I'm sure this building would turn to dust before I could."

"No way. All we have to do is zap over to Mordor, get your magic mojo back, zip back here, and just live."

" _Just live_. Surely we have a greater purpose than to _just_ breathe, Tony?"

"We'll figure it out on the way." Tony shrugged. "Point is, why not Loki? Though you're old as dirt, one day I'll _be_ dirt, yadda yadda, at least you could spend a small segment of your life without too much worry? I mean, you could just sit back, live with me and have fun. And maybe in a hundred years you can look back and just smile. It's better to have had something than nothing at all."

"You're so strange, Stark." Loki couldn't help but give him a small smile. "So weird."

"Psh, I'm not a goat who wears my mother's drapes."

Loki took one of Tony's pawns with his black queen, smiling smugly to himself. Tony had been getting harder to beat, but now the frost giant was starting to reclaim the winner spot. He stretched his legs out some more on the bedroom floor and pulled his iron man bed sheet closer around his body.

"Baaa," he said in response. "Though I'm pretty sure these would be referred to as _your_ drapes."

"What?" Tony squawked at the other side of the board. The hypocrite was also wrapped in a bed sheet, this one a different version of Loki's. "They came from your bed. They are yours."

"Your house, your property. Your drapes."

"I do agree with your guest, sir." JARVIS chirped in for good measure. Tony made his move his move in a huff, which opened him up for Loki to call check on him.

"Check. Do you have a more solid plan for Banner?"

"It's been three days. I have a plan." Tony grumbled, moving his king over just for Loki to call check again. "We start out with me personally picking him up from the airport. We exchange small talk, he strokes my ego, we bro-fist and move on."

"And then?"

"We go to a cafe and I talk. I give him a run-down on what's going on and give him a chance to calm down. Bruce is a pretty calm guy, there's a huge chance he won't call SHIELD, especially if they have been on his trail for a while. And he'll have a cup of tea which will keep him from hulking out."

"Wait, Tony." Loki twirled his queen in his hands, delaying his turn. "You say SHIELD has been closely monitoring him for a while? Wouldn't having him here lead them to me?"

"I was thinking about that," Tony admitted. "But I think it should be fine. If Bruce was able to call me earlier on, my guess is they let up some. He wouldn't try to contact anyone, he's that paranoid. Plus I have the highest security in the world. Better than SHIELD, cause' I work so damn hard on it. We should be fine."

"Mhmm." Loki mumbled, still not entirely convinced.

"If Fury gets too close to my system, I'll just have JARVIS send him a nasty little virus. Their system will be shut down in five minutes tops and some pretty embarrassing videos of some agents will spread through the organization. I got some pretty good dirt on them thanks to JARV."

"Fine. But why is SHIELD tracking him in the first place? What exactly happened?"

"They try to keep tabs on me too, you know." Tony couldn't escape Loki's queen. He paused for a moment to see if he could worm his way out of it. "Not only does Bruce have The Other Guy but he also is a pretty smart guy. The try to make sure he doesn't turn green and level out a city. But they also try to make sure his experiments aren't too big. They poke their noses in too far though and try to steal his stuff. Same thing with my technology. It gets so annoying. We value our privacy, thank you."

"So is that why you need special clearance to visit your lab?"

"Wait," Tony made his move and frowned. "You...tried to go into my lab?"

"Only once, I'm sorry for trying to intrude," Loki shrugged. "I thought you were aware? JARVIS told me he informed you. It frightened me so I went back to my room."

"JARVIS, you're an ass." Tony yelled towards the ceiling before letting out a light chuckle. "You're fine Loki. JARV was just being an ass and pranking you. Not a big deal, but yeah...my lab is kind of my personal space. But you _do_ have clearance to go in there. He just has to tell me when you're near it."

"I see. Anyway, what was the rest of your plan?"

"When that's all covered and dandy, you two will talk like grown men, sort out whatever past beef you got, then we give each other a friendship bracelet and go on with our mediocre lives."


	23. Getting ready

"Loki, for goodness sakes, put on some real clothes! Bruce is coming in a few hours and we don't want him to be nervous." Steve said, all authority in his voice. He stood with his feet between the chess set, officially bringing an end to the game of the day. He couldn't believe they spent all this time just playing board games! They had a week to prepare!

"I'm not wearing anything threatening," Loki reassured him. "I should stick to this attire so he will not 'hulk out'."

"Put on some pants! You shouldn't wear _just_ boxers all day."

"Tony does it."

"You are acting like a child!" Steve took a moment to mentally calm himself down. "Tony is not the best role model-"

"Hey! I'm freakin' iron man-"

"-and you should not base any wardrobe decisions on him. An oversized t-shirt is not enough. Please respect yourself and cover up."

"I do what I want Steve," Loki sighed, standing up from the recent game. He and Steve had a staring match until finally the frost giant headed off to get some clothes on. Satisfied, the captain turned to Tony with his hands firmly on his hips.

"Tony," Steve began, only to get waved off.

"I know, I get it Spangles so untangle your panties. I'll put on a suit and get my ass out of here." Tony shrugged and headed on out too.

"Good." Steve muttered to himself. He felt like a babysitter.

* * *

"I do not trust him at all."

Bruce shifted in his wooden chair, careful not to knock over the blueberry muffin and camomile tea Tony had ordered for him. The lighting in the cafe was a little dim but he could still see the faint frown line the iron man had on his face. He watched Tony take a gulp of his black coffee, eyes shifting around the Starbucks, before he leaned forward. They sat seated in the corner of the room, so Bruce wasn't sure that look-over was necessary.

"Bruce-"

"Why does he _have_ to get have his magic? I don't know about you, but that's pretty fishy to me."

"It's a part of him, Bruce. It's like my suits, Cap's shield, the hulk." Tony decided to ignore the fact that the other's gaze shifted downward. "I guess he can't find his groove without it, y'know?"

"Oh yes, he finds his 'groove' and continues his mission to slaughter the rest of New York-"

"He's changed. He's done with all that, I promise. You just have to look at him, trust me." Tony gripped the other man's hand tight, fixing his hard gaze at eye level. The iron man pushed aside the urge to bring up how he was acting like they were in a cliche movie. Things were too serious at the moment.

Bruce stared back, tired eyes searching. After a few beats of silence, Bruce finally exhaled, giving in. Not too many people got a chance to see what was under Tony's armor of snark and faked optimism. But Bruce had seen what the real man was many times, not as much as Pepper, but enough to draw his own conclusions. He knew of the man's potential, his intelligence, kindness, and sense of things. Tony had never proven wrong on hunches before (even when they performed a highly dangerous and questionably illegal experiment; in Tony's defense the law never stated anything against stuffing concentrated chemicals into socks while wearing them along with sandals) and Bruce was going to take his word, even though it sounded crazy.

"That man has a head full of cats," Bruce shook his head slowly and gave his friend a light smile. "It'd be nice to get some of them out."

"Spring cleaning! We already dusted the basement."

"It'd be nice to have a good night sleep with The Other Guy worrying about one less thing," Bruce took a bite out of his muffin and a swig of tea. "I'll try my best to keep him in, but no guarantees. If Loki tries to give another inferiority speech of his..."

"Fine. If you start turning green, our plan is to get you out of the room. But...I doubt he'll be doing that...at least directed towards _any of us_."

"What's he like now?" Bruce murmured, deciding to not ask the question that immediately spawned after Tony's last statement. _What did he mean by not towards 'any of us'_ , he thought. _Was Loki...talking to inanimate objects now?_ He knew the 'god' was crazy, but damn, did he get worse? But judging by everything Tony told him about the situation, he bet Thor made things that way.

"He's nearly fine!" Tony chimed, leaning forward some in his chair. "I'd say he's pretty sane. Pretty nice now, funny at times, besides being the emo kid in the corner sometimes, he's recovering nicely."

"What have you been doing?" Bruce realized then that he had asked the type of question Tony would respond to for a couple of hours. Just like his rants on his suits, science, and different types of alcohol, the iron man spoke a million miles a second about it. He passionately described playing chess with Loki, paperclips, jokes, pancakes, and a strange taste in wardrobe to Bruce, waving his hands animately. Bruce was _very_ confused on everything Tony described going on at his place, but he tried to keep up anyway. He nodded at the appropriate times, laughed at the hilarious moments the inventor described.

All while sipping on his tea, Bruce observed his friend. He didn't look heart broken anymore, in fact, a certain glow was in his eyes. Tony looked healthy. His skin was clear, his usual tan in place. He looked like he was finally eating food healthy for him and drinking something other than scotch.

Tony's smile was so wide and genuine every time he said Loki's name. It even brightened when he described a paperclip (Bruce was still confused about that one). And right then and there, Bruce solidified his choice in his mind. The man pushed The Other Guy away enough for comfort in his head. He was going to give this a genuine shot especially if it brought such _energy_ back to Tony's face.

He would do anything that helped make his friend alive again, even if it involved a certain genocidal criminal. And, maybe while he was at it, he'd find Thor and personally solve the enigma of him throwing his brother into the towers. And then, he'd sit the two brothers down in an office.

For counseling and family bonding.


	24. Two hours behind

Loki was having some last minute regrets; big time. Why did he agree to allowing Bruce over to the towers? What were they thinking? He slumped down on the couch, staring straight ahead at the blank screen in front of him. A "television" Tony had told him. Loki had no clue what it was, what it did, or why he didn't bother learning until now. Tony simply told him that when he came back with Bruce, he was in for a surprise.

Bruce.

A man who was unpredictable and uncontrollable in Loki's eyes. At the time during the invasion, he thought of him as the perfect device to use. The beast was chaos and Loki was an expert in the subject matter. But...he was too much for him to handle, if that was possible? Too strong for him to rule. He had gotten pummeled into the ground and it had _hurt_. Imagine what damage the man could do to his pretty much _mortal_ body?

He shivered. Though Steve and Tony insisted Banner was a completely different person and the one who beat him was really the "hulk", he didn't completely believe them. If even an ounce of a man is a threat, he counts him as a whole enemy. That was one of Loki's mottos and it had saved his arse many times in the past. He needed to be wary and as soon as the man "helped" him, he'd make sure to cut him off. To put enough distance between them so he won't have to worry about a knife between his shoulder blades as he slept.

"Loki," Steve mumbled from beside him. The captain momentarily stopped his sketching to give him a pointed look. "Relax. Stop slouching, Bruce is a nice guy. He's very smart."

"I do what I want, Steve." Loki muttered sulkily and purposely made his posture worse. The movement wrinkled the plain button-down shirt and leather jeans he was wearing. Steve simply rolled his eyes and continued his drawing of a hummingbird.

* * *

When they finally arrived, it was two hours behind schedule. Tony had promised them he'd come back at least by seven in the afternoon. It was about nine o'clock when JARVIS finally announced the two were in the elevator, coming up.

About an hour earlier, Steve had decided to pop some popcorn as a snack. Tony had explicitly told him _not_ to cook anything because he was going to order pizza. They were going to have a movie night, get Loki calm enough to be around Bruce, then get down to business. Or, if they had to, wait another day for him to calm it down. They hoped they didn't need an extra though.

Since Tony hadn't showed up on time and the two were pretty hungry, Steve just popped some corn. Him and Loki ate about two bags until they fell asleep on the couches. Steve was still sitting on the couch he claimed for himself when he just lulled off. The bag he was eating out of slipped out his hands and created a mess all over him. And the floor.

Loki had sprawled over his own couch, his empty bag right on the floor. He was in pretty deep sleep because he didn't immediately wake up. The captain did though. But before Steve could move or clean up some of the popcorn, the elevator dinged open and out stepped the two men they had been waiting for.

"Honey, I'm home!" came Tony's excited voice. "I broughteth thou substeneth."

And the iron man came into the room shaking the stacked pizzas he had in his hands before setting them down on the coffee table in front of the couches. Bruce sheepishly came into the area too, carrying a few dozens of flavored sparkling waters.

"Hello Bruce." Steve said with a smile.

"Captain." Bruce said with a slight wave of his hand. "You missed your mouth."

"Really, your whole face." Tony chimed in. "Did you guys start without us?"

"No, we just ate some popcorn," Steve shoved a pile of the stuff to a corner of the couch before getting up to grab a broom. "Because _someone_ came home late."

"We just had a long chat, Steve," Bruce interrupted whatever smartass comment Tony was going to say. He shifted his attention to Loki's sleeping form. "He's skinnier than I remember."

"You've lost weight yourself." Tony quipped and shooed him away from the beverages. He grabbed one out and slowly sipped on it, feeling the carbonation. Steve and Loki had convinced him to buy carbonated drinks for his alcohol withdraws. Though it wasn't the healthiest, it was a step, and hopefully the slight burn would substitute for Tony's usual drinks. The two weren't compatible though, at least not for Tony. "Hey Lokes!"

The iron man poked Loki in the side a few times. Though he received a few twitches, that was not enough for Tony. Part of movie night was to introduce some "Midgardian technology". Loki needed to be awake for it!

So he decided to sit down on top of his outstretched legs. The newly added weight was enough to get Loki to open his eyes and rejoin the world. He grumbled and tried to shift aside. Tony just casually opened up a box of pizza and took a slice. "JARVIS, what movie do you suggest we watch?"

"Something classic!" Steve chimed in.

"Uh, I was asking-" Tony started but was interrupted by the sound of Bruce sinking down onto one of the sofas nearby.

"I'm up for something classic and it'd be good to show him some pop culture."

"Agreed, sir." came JARVIS' reply. Tony just rolled his eyes before asking what he'd suggest then.

"What is a movie?" Loki muttered sleepily, once again trying to shift. Tony wouldn't budge. "And you're late, Tony."

"I'm sorry," came Bruce's soft voice. Loki immediately came to attention, tensing up when he looked over and saw Banner. The latter had gotten up and outstretched a hand towards him. He was smiling, his curly dark hair a mess. "That's partly my fault. I'm Dr. Bruce Banner, nice to...officially meet you."


	25. Titanic

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This seems to be a favorite among my followers.. (:

Before Tony knew what was going on, Loki had wrapped an arm around his waist and pulled him in closer. Tony acted like a shield, covering most of Loki, except for his head. The frost giant openly stared at Bruce, a frown forming on his lips. The entire room stood frozen for moments minus Loki's not-so-subtle shivering. Finally, Bruce put down his neglected hand, sadly shaking his head. "I'm sorry."

"Good." Loki said simply, keeping his gaze squarely on Bruce until he felt a quick nudge in his side. He glanced quickly to Tony who was slowly shaking his head. And then the man of iron shifted so he could whisper in his ear. _  
_

" _Be nice Lokes, or I'll personally punch you in the dick._ " he rasped, just audible enough for the frost giant to hear. Loki nodded slowly, getting the message. He tried again:

"Hello...Banner."

"Are-" Bruce began but stopped himself. The original plan included him trying to engage in a conversation with Loki and seem less threatening. But...he didn't feel that was a good time. The room was too tense; but he was used to that. "Let's just...watch something."

The scientist finally retook his seat and tried to ignore Loki's intense gaze. Steve and Tony forced themselves to direct their attention to the screen.

"A classic, huh?" Tony said, moving a bit to get more comfortable as a human meat shield laying against Loki in a complete platonic way. He actually wasn't sure if Loki was aware of how tight he held him or whether he realized he was holding him close at all. And..Tony wasn't sure whether he should somehow pull away from the frost giant or just pat him reassuringly. He opted for acting like nothing happened. "Like _Titanic_ or something?"

"There's a film about the Titanic?" Steve asked, looking interested.

"Yeah," Tony chuckled. "With Leo Di'Cap. A little romance, tragedy, shit happens, y'know. No spoilers."

"I don't think a film about a ship sink-"

"No spoilers!" Tony interrupted. Steve rolled his eyes and tried again.

"I don't think a tragedy is a good first film."

"Lokes is a big boy, aren't you?" Tony nudged Loki's side again. The latter quit his staring for a quick second to give his input.

"What's a film?"

"JARVIS, put on _Titanic_!" Tony answered, grabbing another slice of pizza to stuff his face with. "This poor man needs to be enlightened in the fine arts. Lokes, quit staring down Bruce. If you're going to cuddle with me darling, I'd prefer you look at my beautiful face."

"Oh come on Tony," Bruce said in an equally playful tone as his friend. "No one ever checks me out anymore. Share the wealth."

"You should know by now that I'm particularly selfish." The screen lit up and JARVIS paused it as they spoke. "I'm possessive and I must be the only one!"

Loki finally tore his gaze from Bruce and rolled his eyes. Tony smiled reassuringly and the frost giant spoke up again.

"What is a movie and film?"

"Shh, look at the magic box." Tony whispered.

"JARVIS mentioned that it was electrical."

"He was lying. It's magic."

"Television." Loki whispered. He was not going to be fooled. He was pretty quick in the wit department unlike Thor...

"Okay. So to put in the most simplest terms I can, a movie is a sequence of video clips put together to create a story." Tony whispered. "Video clips meaning a sequence of recorded images."

"I don't under-" Loki began but stopped mid-word when the opening scene of the movie played. "Ah. I know _exactly_ what this is then."

When everyone in the room gave him a questioning look, he warily glanced over at Bruce and then explained. "Last time I was here...in New York...I got a glimpse of these. Along the streets, in some restaurants, homes. But I've never watched a 'movie' before."

The avengers made a satisfied sound before turning back to the screen.

"Well," Tony piped up after a few minutes. "Enjoy this. By the time this over, you're going to be crying so hard you'll need to punch a hole through the wall to restore your masculinity."

* * *

Tony was right. Not even halfway through the movie, Steve became immensely hyped and distressed over everything. He really wanted to share how he was upset with the fact that he _knew_ the ship was going to sink, Jack was probably going to die (poor guy he was a good artist), and the theme song was going to haunt him for the rest of his life. But at the same time, he felt enthused about the amazing quality of just about everything. He went through many bags of popcorn.

Loki's reaction was a little different. He knew nothing about the historical aspect of the film and actually asked about it. Tony did not want to spoil anything, especially since he was so engrossed in it, but he did tell him the main premise was real. That made the frost giant lean forward in anticipation, curious about the characters' destiny. And...he was also wondering where all the maiming and killing was. Most popular stories he read involved that type of stuff; why would the moving story be different? And...all the while, he tried not to get too sucked into the film. He kept a fervent eye on Bruce, making sure he didn't go all mean and green, paranoid as a cat in a bag.

Of course Bruce was as chill as a cucumber. He was simply lounging in his seat, watching the movie with the calmest expression. He had seen _Titanic_ enough times to not be so attached to it.

Tony had also seen the movie enough times to not be too surprised. It was something he and Pepper used to watch on casual date nights. He mentally shrugged away that memory. She wasn't coming back. He actually...hadn't done too much thinking about her lately. That was all well with him, though he joked with himself she would be summoned by her strange six sense of the _Titanic_ playing.

The moment finally arrived when all four men lost it and shed tears.

The tragic ending arrived. Steve cried like a giant baby, it was actually embarrassing. The other three spent a good two minutes shedding silent tears before gathering themselves. No matter how hard Tony tried, he always got choked up at the end. Always. He couldn't help but give Loki a little hug. Loki looked pretty shocked at the ending. No bastard children strangling each other and falling into the water like he was betting. Nope. The ship sunk, people died, the end. Goodbye to the romantic duo.

"So...how was it?" Bruce asked Loki hesitantly, wiping away a tear. For some reason, seeing the doctor cry really relieved a little of his paranoia towards the man. It made him seem more harmless. Human. But still unpredictably dangerous, so he wasn't completely off the hook. Not _that_ fast, let's be realistic.

"That was good. Romantic. Tragic." Loki said slowly. "Let's watch another."

"Sure," Tony replied, untangling himself from Loki and the couch so he could stretch. "Once Cap' over there gets himself together."

* * *

No one realized the elevator opened right before the movie ended. Pepper Potts walked in late at night for two purposes. She had paperwork to drop off for Tony. As usual.

The second...because she had a strange feeling. She wasn't sure exactly what caused her to go over to the towers that late at night, but she felt like she needed to check up on everything. The blonde told herself it was because she hadn't heard from Steve in a couple of days (yes, she checked up on him every other day) and she wanted to make sure Loki killed them in their sleep. But whatever the reason, she came. She saw the popcorn, the pizza, the movie. One of her favorites, _Titanic_ was just about to end. She set down the papers at the bar before she noticed.

Tony and Loki. On the same couch. Watching the movie together.

It looked almost like one of their old casual movie dates.

The nostalgia was broken once the movie ended; she got to see all the men cry.


	26. Lightening

Feet crashed into the ground and buried themselves in the rubble. They were buried deep enough for him not to stumble over and fall. The fact that he was used to landing with such force helped too. He placed his hammer on his belt and straightened out his Midgardian clothes. Gathering himself, he left the New York alleyway with an air of importance.

He pushed through the crowds of mortals as if they were playing cards. After a while, enough got the memo, and soon many were simply clearing a path for him. He smiled and mumbled his thanks for their cooperation. They responded in their New Yorkian way, which Thor shrugged off. He was used to it.

The thunder god took a moment to stand before Stark Towers, taking in all of it's beauty. He knew his brother was still there, right where he left him. Thor wasn't positive on what condition he'd find Loki in and the thought brought a pain to his heart which he frowned at. He knew he shouldn't feel the need to care about little things like that; after all he had been the one to throw him down there in his rage. He had wanted whatever Loki had coming to him to happen. He wanted Loki to finally learn his place, his lesson. But he was angry then.

Now he wasn't sure if he still wanted Loki in the same place he tried to destroy. But he supposed it was the only way to get something into his thick skull. He turned away from the tower, too conflicted. For a quick moment he let some of his anger out in the form of a few strikes of lightening and thunder. But then he calmed himself down, chided his inner rage for giving away his position to his brother. It wasn't the time to involve himself with his brother's life. Not now.

* * *

Pepper was noticed when Steve went around to grab a tissue. He quickly wiped away his tears, washed his hands, and went over to hug the strawberry blonde. "Hey Pepper! Whatcha' doing here? Didn't know you were coming."

She returned the hug before saying firmly, "Paperwork."

"Tony will get it signed. Thank you." Loki said before anyone else could. He gave Pepper a formal, slightly wary look before looking away.

"Hm...I-uhm, thank you Loki."

"I knew it," Tony chuckled, leaning over the back of the sofa. Loki scooted further away, obviously feeling uncomfortable. First Bruce. Now Pepper. Two strangers, both he didn't really want to deal with. "Titanic always lures you in Pepper. It's like your sixth sense. Like 'spidey sense' only cooler. That guy's such a nerd."

"You've got me." Pepper sighed as if she were defeated. "It's my favorite movie in my defense."

"No it's not," Tony joked, tone a bit thin as if he were remembering old times. "It's Dum-E's favorite."

"You mean 12% of it is Dum-E's." she replied in the same tone before resuming her usual. "How are you doing, Tony? Haven't heard much about your 'spiral into darkness' lately. Either you're staying cooped up here or doing something in your lab."

"Mmm, thanks for checking the press." Tony said and held up his bottle of sparkling water. "I switched to carbonation only if that's what you're wondering."

"That's a miracle."

"It's probably spiked. I wouldn't put it past you, Tony." Pepper jumped when Bruce finally spoke. She forgot about him as he had faded into the background. He voice was still soft as ever too.

"Honey, I thought we agreed that we weren't going to talk about that. That's a direct violation of science buddy time, Bruce." Tony nearly whined.

"It is a violation of _our_ deal I believe." Loki said. "How did you manage to do that though? I watched you open every bottle you had."

"Oh," Tony sighed. "I haven't yet. Was planning on it, but just a few drops each."

"JARVIS, is this correct?" chimed in Steve.

" _Indeed._ " came JARVIS' reply, as smug as ever.

"You all are traitors." said Tony.

"Keep saying that," Loki said. "I will have JARVIS find the rest of your stash and I will drink it in front of you myself."

"So Pepper," Steve turned to the only female in the room, "How's Happy?"

"He's fine," Pepper replied smoothly. "We both are fine. We went to a little business party yesterday, it was pretty fun, and went out for dinner."

"What?" Tony asked, very confused.

"That's lovely!" Steve replied as if Tony hadn't spoken.

"I should get going on that note. He's waiting for me downstairs." Pepper gave everyone a smile and Steve walked her to the elevator.

"Tell him I said thanks for all the transportation to the park," Steve said before she stepped in. "Mornings are nice for baseball."

"I'll tell him. I'll also be back tomorrow for the papers. Bye!"

And with that Pepper Potts left the towers, of course not before sending Loki one lingering, departing look. As soon as she left, Tony turned to the captain and asked, "Is she...with Happy?"

"...Oh, well, yes. Has been for a while."

"Oh." said Tony simply, turning back to properly sit in the sofa. Everyone stared at him, studying his face, and tried to gauge his reaction. After a few moments of sporting a poker face, the iron man finally shrugged his shoulders and smiled at Loki. "Lucky girl, huh?"

But before Loki could mutter a reply or move, sudden thunder shook the building. He moved his gaze over to a window by reflex and saw a quick flash of lightening. He couldn't help but feel a dark hook right in his heart tug. Looking away, he simply nodded to Tony and asked JARVIS to close the blinds, check the forecast. "Let's watch another movie."


	27. This is Halloween

Months passed by in Stark Towers with the occasional storm at night. Whenever the thunder would fall, Loki would stop whatever he was doing and disappear to his room. Tony would make sure the blinds stayed closed whenever it rained. It became a frequent enough action that everyone else in the tower followed suit. Even JARVIS developed the habit of shielding the frost giant from the outside world.

Loki worked with Bruce and Tony in the lab for a way to regain his magic, but it was all hopeless. They researched all they could, even taking myths into consideration despite Tony's protests that they weren't scientific. Loki reasoned using classic magic related methods might work better than "the scientific method" in this case. The scientific duo agreed to try things his way. Potions were made out of frog eyes, tonics mixed with blood, and they even went on a few expeditions through caves for artifacts that JARVIS scanned as positive with energy matching Loki's during the invasion. Besides freezing in the Nordic lands and having Loki choke on goat blood, nothing worked.

Tony grew a little worried for his ex-magical friend. With each failed attempt at regaining his powers, Loki would get very frustrated and spend hours sulking in his room. Sometimes he'd even work himself into a fit where he'd simply retreat into a dark corner in his mind and just stare blankly ahead. A dark expression would appear on his face and it always unnerved the iron man. Tony would stick a chessboard or a book in his face to get him out of the trance. It usually worked and they'd have an engaging game or reading. But as time passed by...well, that method of distraction started to fail.

As a month went by, bringing more failures and broken theories, Tony had a chat with Bruce and Steve. They sat down in one of the tower's numerous guest rooms and discussed what to do to cool down Loki for a bit. In fact, they _all_ needed a break from their constant searching. Tony poured himself a glass of wine for the first time in...well, he couldn't remember the last time he had a full glass of wine. Or really a full glass of anything alcoholic; he took sips of scotch every now and then, but substituted his usual binging with carbonated beverages.

He ignored the captain's questioning glance and said, "I believe it's time for us to put this magic treasure hunt on hold. I can't start balding."

"Yeah, a break would be nice." Bruce said, holding a warm cup of chai between his palms. "I know Loki won't appreciate it...but I don't think I can handle another narrow escape from a collapsing cave."

" _In Iceland_. Talk about freezing my ass off," Tony sighed. "I mean, I like Lokes and all but I think we need to change our approach anyway. But besides that, we need something to do on break."

"Like going to sleep? Sitting down and reading a book?"

Tony almost snorted. "I'm sure we need better ideas than that pitched, Green Machine."

"We already go to sleep - well, besides you Tony - and read books." Steve finally piped in.

"I was thinking a slumber party," Tony said. "Cap' could let us use his nail polish and maybe we could discuss your feelings Bruce."

"We all live in the same building though. And I don't own nail polish..." Steve said, taking him seriously.

"No way Captain Obvious," Tony took a long swig of his drink. "How about a regular party then. Hey, Halloween's next week, right? Yeah, let's have a Halloween party."

"What?" Bruce choked on his tea. "I think you're forgetting Loki?"

Bruce nearly fell off his perch on the left corner of the bed, staring at his science bro who sat on the right corner. Steve shifted in his seat on the floor by Bruce's legs.

"What if someone recognizes him? Remember...remember the club incident?" Steve said. "That lady recognized him right before we left."

"Okay, I see you're points."

Bruce and Steve visibly relaxed, scooting back onto their seats on the ground and bed corner.

"We'll just have a costume party! Everyone will be in costume."

"That does NOT make it okay, Tony." Bruce warned. "He'll have an anxiety attack."

"He was fine the last time he was around a lot of people." Tony insisted. "And I'll make it a small party just in case."

"SHIELD might hear-"

"I'll have JARVIS make sure no news reaches Fury and agents stay out." Tony said as if it were final. "Come on, open your eyes and smell the heavily polluted air of New York! A party is the perfect way to relieve stress and have fun. We just need to be loose for a while."

"Tony, promise you won't...fondue with - with uhm..." Steve began.

"I swear I won't have any one night stands. I will limit myself to five drinks and will make sure Loki stays under my wing. This is perfect for him to learn some more culture too."

It _was_ one of their goals to further introduce Loki to the cultures of Midgard. So far the majority of his knowledge came from the movies and books that he was introduced to. He was still connecting dots between customs and history but was on his way to having a very solid understanding of things.

"I'll trust you once again." Bruce sighed. "You need to explain to him what the holiday is."

* * *

Loki was resting his head on the table, staring off into space when Tony found him minutes after his quick meeting with the other occupants of the tower. The frost giant was probably wallowing in a pile of self hatred by the expression that seemed locked in his eyes. Tony found himself hovering over him for a moment before gently resting a hand on his shoulder. When he didn't move, he leaned down so that his face was in front of Loki's. "Lokes?"

No reply. Tony waved a hand in front of his eyes. Still no reply.

"It's not your fault, you know. You shouldn't blame yourself for things out of your control."

He was talking about their failure in finding a way to regain Loki's magic. By the way Loki snapped out of his haze and looked at him, he could tell the frost giant thought he was talking about something else.

"How do you know what I am?" he asked in a cautious tone.

Tony gave him a blank look, not knowing what the hell Loki was talking about. "What?"

The two simply looked at each other for moments, both wanting to ask questions but were too hesitant to speak.

"Oh, I see." Loki finally said, looking away.

"Right." Tony said awkwardly. He recovered fast enough though, "Guess what? We're going to do something completely amazing next week."

"Hmm?"

"We're going," A pause for emphasis. "to throw a Halloween party!"

Loki gave him a blank look, really only comprehending the word "party" which he wasn't sure how he felt about _that_ yet. "Hallow Ween?"

"Yes, Lokes. _Halloween_. It's a totally awesome party. Y'See, back a long time ago, you know when peeps were very religious and stuff, they believed evil spirits would come over on Hallow's Eve or something like that. Yeah, so since they didn't want these spooks to get into their bodies and shit, they decided to dress up..."

A Tony spoke, he flailed his arms around. He made a few hand gestures as he spoke, some supposed to represent bodies and such. Loki watched with amusement; Tony always went on and on about things he felt strongly towards. The frost giant liked watching him speak with that glow in his eyes. It made him forget his own dark thoughts for a moment, instead of his mind wandering he hung on to each of Tony's words like a child keeping a strong hold on a lollipop.

"...and that spooked them so they'd go away! But nowadays we don't really care too much about stuff like that. Ha, nowadays it's just about kids getting free candy from some greasy neighbors and teenagers trying to pass off as ten year olds in order to get some too. But adults can still have fun cause' they have adult costumes and parties. So...yeah. It'll be fun."

"Right. And what shall go on at this feast?" Loki asked, even though he knew the difference between 'party' and 'feast', and could figure out what happened at them on his own. He just wanted Tony to keep talking.

"No, no, not a feast. We won't be eating a deer or roast pig. I'm sorry Leif Erikson. _But,_ we will have lots of Halloween-themed food and decorations. That includes the usual and cliche spider webs, witch cauldrons, eyeballs in the punch. I'll have them include a skeleton and smoke for you too. And maybe some of those cheap-ass but classic..."

Loki eventually stopped processing what he was saying but still held on to the cadence of Tony's voice. He just couldn't help but wonder...why was this holiday so popular with the mortals? It seemed morbid. Skeletons in punch bowls? Smoke and spider webs? Strange, he was sure the Midgardians loved keeping their homes clean. But then again, he couldn't exactly call the Midgardians morbid when the Asgardians had some things that were much more twisted when he really though about it...

"...what do you wanna' be?"

"Excuse me?" Loki blinked, focusing on his words at the wrong moment.

"Your costume, Lokes. What do you want to be?"

* * *

It was an hour before the night of the party. Their guests would arrive soon (who were really just a handful of friends plus employees of Tony). The four men had decided that they were going to pick out a costume, have JARVIS buy/custom make it for them, and reveal what they got before the party. It was Steve's idea and everyone thought it'd be something to do. Of course throughout the week, Tony had been nosing around, trying his hardest to find out what his companions were going to be wearing in advance. JARVIS would not let him though, and warned each of his friends whenever Tony tried.

Now, an hour before the party, Tony was lounging on the common room sofa, waiting for the others to arrive. Of course the first person to arrive to the room was Steve with Bruce coming behind him a few seconds later. Tony looked up from his place on the sofa and smiled. Right in front of him stood the captain, dressed as the Statue of Liberty. The iron man couldn't even hold in his laughter. It was too hilarious and an interesting choice.

"JARVIS suggested it..." Steve said sheepishly. "I liked the idea at first..."

"It looks good, Cap'." Bruce reassured him. The scientist was wearing another interesting choice in Tony's opinion. Half of Bruce's face was covered in face paint that resembled a more grotesque face. He also wore a suit and fedora that was split (though cliche) in black on one side, white on the other. Bruce said simply, "I'm Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde."

"Nice." Tony said, nodding, clearly impressed.

"What are you?" Steve asked.

"Me?" Tony pointed to himself. He was wearing his usual attire; a band tee and jeans. "I'm that actor dude that looks like me. Y'know, the one who's too big of a fan in my opinion, cause' he made a complete replica of my suit. One hundred percent plastic, but yet he claims it's all iron." He couldn't help but roll his eyes. His suits weren't even _one hundred percent iron damnit._

"That is not a costume, Tony." Bruce said, crossing his arms. "Go put on something. Everyone's going to be dressed at the party."

"Finnnnneeee." Tony sighed after an intense glaring battle with his science bro who simply met his gaze with a cool calm. "Fine."

So Tony changed quickly, settling on an exact replica of the jumpsuits from Tron: Legacy. Although he wasn't too much of a fan of the movie, he liked the idea that the suit would look amazing on him as it hugged the body, so he ordered one. When he put it on and turned on the light switch for it, he did indeed look sexy. He returned to the common room and sunk back down into his chair. Thirty minutes to go.

Bruce nodded his approval along with Steve although he didn't understand where it was from.

"Where's Loki?" Tony asked.

"He is on his way right now, sir." JARVIS answered, somehow sounding enthusiastic.

Sure enough, moments later, Loki arrived all dressed up and as prepared as he ever was for socialization. "I apologize for the wait. I had JARVIS look up too many tutorials on the makeup."

_Well it sure paid off_ , Tony wanted to say, but he only looked on in awe. Loki was dressed in a nicely tailored, form fitting, and completely suitable Jack Skellington costume. With his height, slim figure, and paint, he appeared to be the perfect Jack. He had taken great care to paint skeletal designs over his hands and face. Though he was already pretty pale, he had taken the time to add a light layer of white to his face and partially exposed chest - you could see hint of collarbone under the collar - and the stitch design by his lips impeccable.

Tony wasn't surprised Loki picked Skellington. Right after Halloween was more thoroughly explained, he had dragged Loki over to an impromptu movie night to watch "The Nightmare Before Christmas". Surprisingly, Loki thoroughly enjoyed it and it was his favorite Halloween (or Christmas?) movie by far.

"That's amazing." Tony finally said. "Oooh, remind me to take a group picture of us because this is scrapbook worthy."

His companions agreed, each shyly accepting each other's compliments. They were cut short of it though, when JARVIS interrupted to announce the first guest arriving. They moved downstairs to the room Tony specifically designed for parties. It was well decorated with tables, a good food spread, and many decorations (Steve had called Pepper and she had arranged most of it. Tony had put up the decorations himself like a small child). The stood by the entrance and admired the quality before exchanging quick glances as they waited for the guests to make their way to the room.

They all had one thought in common: the party better not be a disaster.


	28. Trapped

"That's a cool accent. Is it Scottish?"

"English," Loki politely replied with a small smile. "I can assure you the Scottish sound very much different."

"I'm sorry," said the teenage boy holding a tall glass close to his chest. "I'm such an idiot, wow, I knew that."

The two stood off to the side, away from the dance floor but right next to the bar. Loki was not too sure why such a young person was attending a party clearly made for adults, but he decided to just roll with it. He'd spent the last ten minutes now talking to the boy who he found to actually be good company.

"It is fine," Loki said. "Perhaps I'm being an 'idiot' too because I really do not understand what you're supposed to be dressed up as."

"Oh! The press, get it?" he said, lifting the camera slung around his neck to his face and snapping a quick picture. Loki flinched and simply nodded. The "Press" must be some type of photographer.

"Parker!"

They both looked over to the side when they heard Tony's voice and watched him approach. Loki couldn't help but smile.

Lit up like a candle amidst the otherwise dim room, thanks to his costume plus the arc reactor, Tony was sporting a fake spider web tangled in his sweat-slicked hair. He also looked tired out which Loki recognized as a sign that Tony was ready for either a drink or fast food. Loki opted to twisting around and pouring a small glass of scotch to press into the iron man's hands. Tony looked up, alarmed that he was being given some alcohol, but Loki simply shrugged. "One drink. One in the spirit of this holiday."

"Thanks Lokes," Tony smiled warmly then turned to the teen. "Peter. What the hell are you doing here?"

"You invited me!"

"No way," Tony said. "Adults only. Special people who are cool are only invited too."

"JARVIS specifically asked for Spiderman." Peter said with an expression that read, 'ha! what now?!'.

"Then why aren't you currently wearing the suit? I was looking forward to it." Tony chuckled.

"Children." Loki muttered to himself.

"Lokes," Tony turned his attention to the frost giant abruptly. "Why did you let him get a drink? As in, my expensive alcoholic shit? He's sixteen."

"Seventeen." Peter interrupted.

"Sparkling water," Loki replied with a smirk. "Steve made sure he was accounted for."

What a goody-two-shoes, Tony couldn't help but think. Making sure the law is being followed.

"I guess that's good," he ignored Peter's indignant huff, "So enjoying the party so far, Princess?"

"Of course." Loki said. "Though I could do more dancing."

"That can be arranged." Tony smugly replied and finished off the drink in his hand. He casually pushed it aside onto the bar and grabbed one of Loki's hands. Peter watched with a brow raised questioningly, taking a deep swig of his sparkling water.

"Sorry squirt, we'll probably catch up with you later." Tony said before pulling Loki with him towards the dance floor.

* * *

To Tony's surprise, Loki was actually a much better dancer than him. Of course Tony knew Loki was graceful, slim, and so on so forth, blah blah, but he expected to be able to keep up with him at least. Over his years of one night stands, Tony had pretty much mastered the art of dancing to fast pop songs. Instead, in this instance, he was like the two second delay you'd get on a phone call, just barely missing Loki's cadence. After a couple of songs, Tony was totally off beat from trying to keep up with his companion. Of course Loki noticed.

"What's wrong, Tony? When did you get two left feet?" he teased.

"Maybe you just have-" Tony trailed off as the music changed and a song with a much slower beat started playing. Without putting any thought to it, Tony smoothly wrapped an arm around Loki's waist, pulled him close to his body, and fell into the step of the new song. Loki just blinked before relaxing his shoulders.

"How smooth." Loki said.

"Of course," Tony had to look up in order to reply. "I never noticed how freakishly tall you are."

Because they were chest to chest with little room between them. If Tony was with someone else, say Bruce, the situation might have been awkward. But with Loki...he felt fine. Almost as if it fit, he'd dare to say.

"You're tiny." Loki snorted.

"How's the party now?" He glanced around the room, eyes resting on Steve dancing by himself while Bruce was being a total wallflower. Of course. "Please tell me you're having more fun than Spangles and Wallflower over there."

"Well the costumes are nice."

"And?"

"The food is adequate and the music is tolerable enough," he said slowly, relishing the impatient look that Tony was trying to hide. "It's all fine."

"Okay." Tony matched his tone.

"But I have to tell you," Loki said in a more hushed tone and leaned forward.

"And what would that be, darling?" Tony could feel his heart beat speed up. Why?

"I love dancing with you.."

They could feel the wisps of each other's breath now, noses nearly touching, they were so close. Time seemed to slow down for Tony and he glanced down at Loki's lips. He ran his tongue over his own before his eyes darted up to meet dark green. He-

"Mr. Stark!" Parker hastily grabbed his shoulder, looking every bit anxious. It snapped both Tony and Loki out of their daze.

"What?" Tony snapped, backing away from Loki and glaring down at the kid.

"Dr. Banner asked me to find you," Peter spilled out quickly. "We have trouble."

Tony looked over to where Peter quickly pointed and immediately recognized what the urgent issue was. Clint Barton was threading his way through the crowd in jeans and a tee. Tony recognized from the subtle way the agent shifted through the crowd that he was searching for _something._ It didn't take a genius to know _who_ but he couldn't help but wonder _how he got here or how he knew._

"I see Steve, Tony. I'm going to head over there." said Loki who already left before anyone could reply.

The iron man watched him go, wondering in the back of his mind, what happened? What was happening before Peter interrupted...what was that? He bit his lip and shook the thought away. He had a more pressing matter to deal with at hand.

"Peter," Tony turned back to the teen. "Wanna' know a secret?"

"Will I get to join the Avengers?" he replied eagerly.

"No." Like Tony would ever let some kid join their team of superheroes that fought dangerous genocidal sociopaths like Loki. Their badassery would go down seventy percent before they even leave for the city. He might find Peter a cool kid, but not cool enough to see him every day in his tower. Maybe he'd consider pitching the idea to everyone if Parker turned twenty.

"Then what's up?"

"Now, I'm only letting you know this cause' you're going to help us...right?"

"Of course!" Peter said, looking like a bright-eyed puppy.

"Promise you won't do anything stupid and listen?" Tony waited for him to agree. "Good. Jack Skellington over there? Guess who he is."

"Your boyfriend."

"What?!" Tony nearly choked. Peter's only response was an eye roll and Tony elected to ignore what he said/did completely. "Jack over there is really Loki-"

"What?!"

"-who happens to be good and not evil as you can see. Anyway, his stay here is supposed to be a secret. See Barton over there? Distract him, find out how the hell he got in here when this is a private party, and get him out of here. I think Steve will be able to help you. Bruce and I are going to end this party cause' this is too risky, and Loki's going to go to his room. That's the plan. I'm going to run this down with Steve and Bruce, but I'd like it if you get a head start." Tony finished with a challenging look on his face. However, Parker didn't see it as he was eying Loki from across the room with that puppy-dog expression of wonder.

Finally, after a few beats, he grinned and nodded, blending into the crowd with ease. Tony let out a relieved sigh before doing as he said.

* * *

Loki slipped into his room without anyone noticing thanks to Bruce. He closed the door quietly, facing it as he reflected for a moment. What happened? And he didn't mean the whole Hawkeye somehow slipping in, though it was a major part of his confusion, but this time he was referring to the time he spent with Tony. The two were dancing, were so close, and they almost...

"It's over, Loki."

His thoughts were jarred by a very familiar feminine voice that made his blood run cold. He fell into a frenzied panic, half way confused again, before turning around to meet the red head sitting on the edge of his bed. The frost giant had half a mind to just fling the door open and run away. Of the two agents, he'd rather have a run in with the male as he was a little more predictable.

"There's no point in running." she cooed, as if she read his thoughts. "I come here to talk."


	29. In a dark place

"JARVIS, turn off the music. If you haven't heard me already, party's over." Tony spoke up and crossed his arms as he waited for the command to be executed. Moments later, the music was still blasting and the party still going on. "JARVIS?"

There was no response from his AI and Tony bit his lip in slight worry. Had SHIELD shut him down? Oh shit, was the building surrounded at the moment? Shit. Fuck. They fucked up big time.

He was just about to round everyone up for a plan two when the AI's voice finally could be heard. " _Booting up."_

"JARV!" Tony said, relieved before ducking into a more private room to talk to his AI. "Show me the surveillance from the past hour, I want to know Barton's location, and I need a suit at the ready."

"Yes sir, should I assume you are aware of the security breach?"

"I thought I programmed you not to restate the obvious," Tony growled. "Now that we have acknowledged the fact that Barton's here, I want to know how the hell Fury got in. I got a nice little virus I want you to give to any of his remaining hackers-"

"Sir, SHIELD is not responsible for my shutdown or security breach."

"Then who is?!" Tony said.

"Are you also aware of Natasha Romanoff's presence in the towers?" JARVIS said, ignoring his last question.

Tony felt himself stop short and drew in a quick breath. "...where?"

* * *

Loki stood firmly with his back pressed against the door, staring back at the widow while biting his lip in anticipation. He could feel his heart pumping, the familiar churning in his stomach that he always got when he thought of her, and he felt the icy tips of fear run along his spine. The black widow was perhaps the second avenger that he feared most, behind the hulk of course. No, he didn't fear her physical abilities, he feared her wit. The red head had beat him at his own trade, own talent, own special skill that he was best at. And that was when he still had his magic in place along with his usual strength. Imagine the damage she could do now when he was most vulnerable?

Romanoff stood up just then, her long and elegant floor length dress flowing with her movement. The garment was a deep rich blue that complemented her skin and made her hair appear much more vibrant, almost as if it were fire itself. On an ordinary woman, the dress would have made them appear dainty and fragile. But on Natasha, Loki thought she appeared even more formidable. In his eyes, it was as if the dress concealed most of her deadly venom to the naked eye and that kind of hidden power was the most dangerous. _  
_

"I do not wish to speak with you." he said, keeping his voice level.

"But you're going to," she answered matter-of-factly.

The frost giant could feel the usual start of his conflicting emotions. Her words made him angry, but he was reminded who he was facing and he could feel the fear set back in. He wanted to use that silver tongue of his, knock her down a few pegs in a battle of wit, but remembered what his likely outcome would be if he got too pompous.

"How did you manage to get in?"

The two started circling each other around the room. Loki's steps were hesitant; Natasha's stride was full of purpose.

"We have our ways," she replied smoothly. "You're going to have to come with me now. It would be best if you choose to cooperate."

"And if I don't?" Loki almost paused.

She opened her mouth to speak, but he interrupted her. "I refuse to be taken into custody of SHIELD."

And with that, he made a stupidly rash decision and dashed towards the door. His fingers had just grasped the door handle when his legs were knocked from underneath him and he fell forward onto the door. His nose collided with the hard handle on his way down. Blood spilled from his nose and he slumped to the floor in a pile. Loki jerked his head around to see Natasha subtly moving her leg back in place, concealing the gun strapped to her limb that was revealed only because the fabric of her dress shifted.

"I'm not working for SHIELD this mission," she said as he frantically collected himself as best as he could and attempted to escape again. She pulled him away from the door to pin him down and he began to struggle harder, completely ignoring her words. "Loki, please."

"No!" he shouted. He was _not_ giving up without some type of fight no matter how much pride he lost in the process. In the back of his mind, he blamed his weakness on his failure to regain his magic. His failure would result in his capture and possible execution he bet.

Natasha sighed heavily and firmly pressed her knees against him. "I am not allowed to injure you, but don't think for a moment I won't if it's necessary. Thor wants you in one piece though."

This froze him right in his tracks. He stopped resisting and looked into her serious blank stare. She was lying...she had to be.

"Thor wants me to retrieve you. For what, I do not know, but he wants you. Since me and Clint owe him a few favors...he asked us to get you. I don't like you, but a debt is a debt."

"And SHIELD?" he asked, his voice barely audible.

"Not in any way involved. We are not allowed to go to Fury. We wouldn't want to anyway. We don't trust him completely."

"I don't trust you." he spat.

"That does not matter because you're coming."


	30. Let's talk

"Sir, I think you'll appreciate the fact that Barton was just neutralized by the Captain and Mr. Parker. Mr. Barton is currently sitting on the couch in the living room. The guests have also been sent home with gift bags per Banner's request."

"Good," was all Tony said while his suit assembled itself on his body. He kept his helmet off however. Though he wasn't going to fuck around with the agents no matter how pissed he felt at the moment (he couldn't pinpoint whether his anger was geared towards the security breach more than the attempt to kidnap Loki) he preferred not to demolish his house in the process, thank you very much. Hopefully Natasha would take it as a sign that he wasn't in the mood to fight a fellow Avenger but would if he had to.

In no time Tony was at Loki's bedroom door and busted the door wide open. He was greeted with the sight of Natasha behind a kneeling Loki, right in the middle of putting handcuffs around his wrists. She had only one firmly locked around his left wrist and had frozen in the process of adding the right when Tony busted in. Without a word, Tony gritted his teeth and began to raise a repulser at her threateningly.

He was interrupted though. Loki, a blur with movement, took full advantage of the widow's split second of a pause almost as if he was planning it from the start. With a slight of his hand, he reached for the knife tucked away with the widow's guns. Then, as she caught onto his actions and began to counter, he threw all his body weight against her side with a small grunt. She was thrown to the side while Loki regained his footing along with some confidence as he held the knife expertly.

Tony simply watched with a whistle, letting his suit dissemble when he realized the situation was mostly handled. He thought. He hoped.

"Looks like you are no damsel in distress, Rapunzel." Tony said as Loki brushed some of his hair out of his face. He was softly panting.

But the frost giant did not reply as he was too busy staring at Natasha. The agent was already recovered and on her feet, still looking every bit formidable in that dress. The two regarded each other carefully as if they were waiting for one of them to make another move. Finally, the widow relaxed her narrow eyes and replaced her expression with one of calculation.

"So," Tony said. "Are you going to tell me what the hell you're doing here? Is terrorizing the locals your new hobby or fetish or something? Not cool by the way."

"I take it you've already taken care of Barton?" Natasha asked, ignoring his question.

"Yes. He should be in the living room. How about we all go sit down for a cup of coffee?"

The agent nodded slowly and stalked right out of the room as if nothing had happened five minutes before. After a few moments of hesitation, Tony and Loki followed after her.

* * *

Barton was indeed in the living room, sitting on a couch with a mug of steaming coffee between his palms already. Bruce sat on a couch right next to it with Peter sitting beside him. Steve was preparing another mug of the dark drink when the three walked in.

It was actually a funny sight to Tony. Here they were, basically the whole super-secret boy band (minus the spider kid) sitting together just like old times. It was kind of funny to Tony because here they were, just sipping coffee and chilling. Sipping coffee as if there was no security breach that crashed the super secret party and ended with a certain two agents trying to kidnap a certain fidgety ball of sunshine still holding onto the latter agent's knife.

Everyone grabbed a mug and took a seat on one of the couches. For a long moment everyone simply sipped on their drink without saying a word. But as the moment of silent dragged on, Clint's constant disgusted glares at Loki got too big to ignore so Tony finally piped up.

"How'd you shut JARVIS down?" he began. "No, better yet, how did you know Loki was here? I'm one hundred percent sure no one from the slumber party told SHIELD."

Tony gave Steve and Banner pointed looks but they both shook their heads. Good.

"We know a guy," Barton said in response to his first question. "And have our ways."

"Bullshit." Tony said, frowning. "Somehow you called in a favor somewhere and managed to put JARVIS down for a few minutes in order to capture Lokes. You must've done your little spy thing, got someone from the inside of the party to find him and boom! We're lucky JARVIS booted up quickly. I don't appreciate your little ipod you hooked up to my speakers while he was down by the way. No wonder the music was starting to sound horrible and hypster as fuck."

"SHIELD is not involved in this if that's what you're hinting at. And my music was not too horrible if you were all over alien ass," Clint stated, folding his arms across his chest sourly. "I don't see why you all are so comfortable with a-"

He was silenced by a stern look from Natasha. She would take care of explanations before Barton's I-hate-Loki-because-he-mind-raped-me speech could even begin.

"Why he was kept here as a secret does not matter," she waved off. "We were sent here by Thor."

There was a shocked silence from everyone except the agents and Loki. They looked at each other warily.

"Thor...wants Loki back?" Tony asked.

"Yes." Natasha said.

"So wait. Let me get this straight," Tony said. "Thor, the very big jolly good fellow who dropped his little brother off here like yesterday's news now wants him back? For what?"

"We don't know," Natasha said. "We just know that we owe him a debt."

"Probably to lock his ass back up," Clint mumbled. "Little shit deserves it."

"He's changed." Tony said quietly.

"He's just manipulating you! That's just what he does!" Clint argued, sounding very aggressive.

"Like you?" Bruce piped up. "I'm pretty sure that's what you do for a living."

Meanwhile, Loki was sinking into the corner of his couch as best as he could. He couldn't help but feel a very familiar anger boil though. It seemed to come with his newly reacquired confidence. The Avengers had started bickering among themselves. Their topic: him.

It reminded him a lot of his so-called "family". Odin and Frigga had often argued about their sons as if they weren't even in the room. He remembered feeling like he wasn't even important enough to acknowledge his presence and would instead try to walk out of the room or sink into the shadows. Of course Thor would do the opposite every time their "parents" debated something and would call out for attention instead.

Thor.

Loki mentally growled. There was no way in hel he was going to go see that oaf that loathed him. Whatever the blonde had planned for the frost giant, Loki did not want part in it. He cleared his throat, "I'm not going."

The Avengers stopped conversing at his statement. All eyes focused on him and Loki repeated, "I'm not going."

Before either agent could say anything, he spoke again. This time he held his head higher and adopted the familiar arrogant poise he had whenever he wanted to conceal what he was truly feeling. It was the same expressions and mannerisms he had when he had first came to Midgard to conquer it. "You should leave. Trying to make me cooperate by force will not be successful on your part."

Romanov put a hand on Clint's chest to hold him back and stop him from sucker punching Loki right in the face. The widow regarded him with that same calculating, curious, sweeping gaze before and simply put on a small grin. She made for the exit with her mug.

"Fine."

"Tell Thor that if he wants me," Loki said, tone a little savage when he uttered his adoptive brother's name. "He'll have to come here himself. I rather be dragged down to _hel_ than have to endure his presence though."

Romanov's only reply was a quirk of her eyebrow and a smirk. And with that, both agents (Clint looking like he was itching to kill) walked into the elevator and left the building.


	31. Blue

"Well I have to give it to you, you must have some massive balls." Tony said as he stepped out onto the balcony with two wine glasses full of highly carbonated juice. "It's been a week and the lightning storms still haven't stopped."

The storm had stopped for an hour now, the calm of the sky only temporary. Every day for the past week, the weather was nothing but harsh rain and lightning. It would only let up for a few hours every afternoon however. But after that, it would abruptly start again with a sharp flash of lightning and the howl of thunder.

Loki spent the hours of calm sky every day to glare up defiantly at the heavens. Steve, Tony, and Bruce were starting to worry. Loki would not say a word while he was on the balcony nor move. He'd just...glare. And snarl. The Avengers watching him from afar would dare say he looked comparable to a wild animal trying to start a fight with a fight with a larger beast, but would cower back every time his hissing was returned. It worried them.

Not only that, but it was freezing outside. After Halloween, the temperature always dropped to near freezing in New York. The men worried that the dark haired man would catch a cold, especially in the rain when it started up again, and would subtly try to convince Loki to bring a jacket to put over his short sleeves. Steve would casually chat to Bruce about long sleeved shirts while Tony would boast about his many coats.

Tony thought it was a lost cause until he looked at the frost giant standing with his head tilted towards the sky in a sweater that was a little familiar. He looked rather nice in it though, in fact, perhaps the nicest Tony had seen him in Midgardian clothing. The iron man handed Loki one of the glasses which the taller man accepted without a word. Tony still squinted at the article of clothing even as Loki lifted the glass to his lips and drained it.

Cashmere. Yes, the material was cashmere, Tony confirmed as he mindlessly stroked the shoulder of the garment. It was a peach, a very subtle tone at that as if it had been slightly washed out, but was still easy on the eyes. His fingers trailed across from the shoulder, to the chest, and ended nearby a collarbone. The neckline was a "v" and he played with it for a moment as he racked his brain to figure out the reason it was familiar, but it was running away like a fleeting ghost-

"Tony," a voice said sharply and the iron man felt Loki's breath ruffle his hair. Tony's eyes snapped up, meeting a pair of emerald's as he was shot back into reality. "What are you doing?"

"Uhmm..." Tony mumbled, for once lost for words, and looked down at the ground at their feet. They were very close. If he wanted to, he'd just have to lean forward to touch Loki.

"What ails you?" Loki asked, placing his palms on either side of Tony's face and bringing it up so that their gazes met again. The frost giant squinted. Their noses were barely touching. "You started staring and went all pale...is this some sort of Midgardian disease you were warning me of?"

"It's nothing Lokes." Tony said quietly, brow creasing as he tried to figure out why the _hell_ the sweater was causing him so much trouble. Loki followed his gaze with a cold expression and a small frown.

"Oh," he said as he let go of Tony abruptly and spun on his heels to resume his position of watching the sky. Only this time, he peered up with a sorrowful expression instead of rage. Tony blinked, not fully understanding what happened.

"Why are you so blue, friend?" Tony said in a light tone, taking a step towards the other man only to stop when Loki whipped around in panicked astonishment.

"I'm _blue?!_ " he nearly shrieked, trying to shield himself by lifting up the collar of his sweater.

"What?" Tony whipped back just as frantic.

"You said I was blue!" his breath came out rapidly. "Don't look at me!"

"Loki-"

"I said don't look at me!" Loki snarled and hugged himself tightly. "Go away, Stark! Surely you don't want me around now that you've seen that I'm just _a monster_."

"What?" Tony repeated, and hurried up to him. "What the hell are you talking about?!"

"Don't lie to me. If I was not blue, you would not be staring at me like that!" Loki hissed.

"Why would I lie to you? Why wouldn't I want you around, Loki? I was just looking at the sweater because it's familiar!" He managed to grab his hand which Loki snatched away with a shriek.

"Don't touch me-"

"You're not a monster Loki!" Tony yelled as he gained a grip of Loki's wrist. He shoved Loki's hand in front of his face quickly. "See? You're fine. Your skin is not blue. You're _fine,_ Loki."

The frost giant's breathing slowed down after he stared dumbly after his skin for a few moments. His tense slowly loosened up and felt a tear run down his cheek. He didn't want to cry - he felt weak - but he did. And Tony simply gave him a big hug.

"It's a figure of speech," Tony explained quietly. "'You're a little blue today' is another way to say you look sad."

"Oh." Loki simply said quietly.

They stayed like that for a while. The two just hugged it out, breathing in each other's scents. It finally hit Tony, why the sweater was so familiar and such a marker in his memory. It used to be Pepper's sweater. That one v-neck he had bought for her, and the one she had washed incorrectly, and the one that had grew. It was from the day Pepper looked her absolute best, the day they had one of their best dates, and from the day she said she loved him.

Ouch.

Now Loki was wearing it, hints of her still woven in it, but now it was mostly Loki. Loki's more earthly scent.

"Where'd you get this from?" Tony asked as he gave a small tug to the sleeve of the sweater.

Loki gulped and considered just giving a short answer but...he felt Tony needed more of an explanation. An explanation behind his freakout too.

"From the box. The box full of clothes you use for your 'one-night-stands' as you call it," Loki said. "I got your not so subtle message that I needed to wear something more when coming out here or else I'd get some Midgardian disease that comes from the cold. I-I actually don't need to wear anything extra. The cold doesn't bother me. It never did."

"So why didn't you tell us that it's an Asgardian trait to be immune to the frosties?"

"Because it's not." Loki whispered. Tony stared at him quizzically.

"So you really are Rudolph? You're the one reindeer with the shiny nose-"

"No." he interrupted. "Yes. I suppose. But I'm not a fellow reindeer."

"Thor did say you were adopted."

"I grabbed this sweater in order to shake off suspicion. I didn't want you to find out that I'm...a _frost giant_."

Loki searched his face for a reaction of disgust or some sort of recognition or even an "ah ha!". Instead, he was greeted by a blank face which soon turned into one full of laughter.

"Is that..." Tony giggled. "A stripper name?"

"No!" Loki slapped him playfully and couldn't help but smile. For a genius Tony was such an idiot. Loki reassumed his grave posture. "I forgot you have never heard of them in this realm. They are horrible creatures that live in a frozen wasteland and are simply uncivilized. My fa- Odin, yes Odin, he has slaughtered many. He found me when I was just a baby, left alone to die, and he took me in. But as just a bargaining token.

"He disguised me as an Asgardian and for _my whole life_ I've lived a lie not knowing I was adopted until I discovered it by mistake. He raised me...with such horrible stories of them. Of how monstrous they are..." he trailed off, not sure where to go without going on about how much he hated himself. How much he hated the blue skin, the lies, everything..."

Tony, who had been watching him close, shook his head slowly. "I don't think you're a monster."

"You'd be the first." Loki said.

"Well, I really don't. In all honestly, if we're going to call out names, I think Odin is one. What a douchebag of a father in my opinion."

"If I'm not a monster," Loki bit his lip slowly. "Then what am I?"

"Just Loki." Tony responded easily, and added not fully aware, "And beautiful."

The frost giant's brow lifted and looked away quickly with a grin. Oh no, he could feel his cheeks heating up. He was starting to blush like a maiden. Tony realized what he said when he noticed the frost giant's face. He failed to swallowed a grin so he laughed it out instead. The iron man was about to say something else when the rain abruptly started again with a clash of thunder that sent both of them jumping. They both ran inside, not wanting to risk getting hit with the lightning bolts dangerously close to the tower.

The two were wet when they managed to recover. Tony quickly closed the blinds as he noticed the storm outside was the darkest it had been yet. Loki watched the clouds swirl angrily and the sharp lightning bolts decorate the sky before they disappeared behind the blinds. He swallowed slowly, knowing this meant Thor was about to make his move.


	32. Shit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shit shit shit shit shit shit

"So there's this girl I like, and I'm not sure how to ask her out."

"Shut the fuck up Peter, no one cares." Tony retorted as he sat down to dig into his plate of lasagna. Steve quickly pushed the plate away and glared pointedly at Tony.

"Be nice," he said.

"So what is your lady's name? What is she like? How long have you been courting her?" Loki asked, ignoring the iron man's comment. He leaned forward in his chair, gaze intently set on the teenager still wearing most of his spiderman suit. Tony, who was sitting next to him, gave a frustrated sigh but reclaimed his plate of food. Tony did _not_ want to hear about the teenager's love life which was most likely nonexistent and filled with enough hormones to power a small country.

"Gwen. She's just so pretty and-"

Bla bla bla, Tony just rolled his eyes and stopped listening. Ugh, he liked and hated Peter at the same time. He enjoyed the kid's intelligence, a little bit of his humor, and his ability to fight. Well, he liked Peter. The only issue he had with him was the simple fact that he was a teenager. To Tony, that meant constant angst and mood swings, and ugh it was just terrible. He rather have a strictly business relationship with the kid; anything personal would be too painful. So when Peter swung by to say hello after kicking some criminal's ass and was invited in for lunch, Tony cringed.

"-how adorable. Don't you think, Tony?" Loki's voice came right beside his ear and Tony startled. He looked up into the frost giant's expecting green eyes.

"What?" Tony asked, completely lost.

"His 'crush', as you Midgardians say, on Gwen."

"She's so pretty! I think I'm falling in love with her," Peter sighed, sounding very much like a hopeless romantic.

"No kid, you just want to get laid. You're horny as hell." Tony snarked.

"Tony!" Steve shrieked, gasping and glaring once again. "That is _not_ appropriate table talk."

"Like you can speak, Tony." Bruce snickered from his corner of the room.

"Hey, at least I never mislabeled it. I wasn't 'in love' with any of my one night stands."

"At least show the boy some mercy. If he starts pursuing her, it will be his first courtship." Loki mused.

The iron man threw his hands up in the air in mock surrender. "Fine!"

"So, can you guys give me any advice?" Peter eagerly asked, wringing his hands and finishing off his plate of food. "What to say, what to wear, what if she says _no?"_

"She won't," Loki reassured. "In Asgard, typically the way to a maiden's heart is through brawn and strength. However, I've won many a partner over with intellect and simply doing what I want."

"Yeah, I'm not that experienced with this...subject area," Bruce piped up. "But know you have to be yourself."

"It's so cliché," Tony drawled.

"But true." Loki finished. "Simply ask her to attend a cinema with you."

"Do I...bring a lot of roses?" Peter asked.

"Oh hell no," Tony almost chuckled. "No, well, not if you're going to a movie. But buy her ticket and popcorn. Make sure you shower before you meet her, smile, and don't make any dick jokes."

"Thanks. I'll try not to."

"Good. Well, end of conversation, let's move on." Tony sighed and attacked his remaining food.

They spent a moment simply eating their plates of lasagna and simply looking at each other. Peter couldn't stop giggling, Tony couldn't stop rolling his eyes, and Loki just looked highly amused. Steve also wore the frost giant's expression and decided to open his mouth again.

"Peter," Steve began with a polite smile. "Do you have anything else you're doing today?"

"No, I'm free. What's up?"

"Want to maybe hang out here? Watch a few movies?"

"You should come more often," Loki mused before turning to Tony. "Can we keep him?"

"Absolutely not!" Tony snarked. "We are not taking in strays."

"I actually have a home. Thanks for asking though," the spider man replied. "But sure. What d'you guys want to watch?"

"Sex and violence. Mostly violent sex though." Tony said as he winked at Loki, scooted up from the table, and put his empty plate away. Steve and Bruce took his lead, leaving only Loki at the table with Peter to finish up.

"Tony," the captain began. "I don't think that would be age appropriate for-"

_BOOM!_

Before the captain could finish his sentence the whole wall leading out to the balcony was blown apart. Dust and debris scattered everywhere within seconds and everyone was thrown back. Reacting quickly, Steve grabbed Bruce, propelling them across the room and safely away. Tony opted for grabbing Loki who grabbed onto Peter from across the table. They rolled out of the way just in time as a bolt of lightning shot straight through the gaping hole made by the destroyed wall.

Shards of glass had been blown everywhere and they all shielded their face in case more would come their way. After a few heartbeats, nothing else happened. Steve cautiously got up and helped Bruce to his feet. The captain quickly the scientist and noted that his skin a little too green. He grimaced and grabbed him by the arm.

"What the hell was that?!" Tony yelled, also standing up and offering Loki a hand. The iron man totally ignored the teenager who eagerly reached out and expected Tony to help him up. Tony turned quickly to Loki. "Are you okay?"

"I'm wonderful, thank you." Peter drawled sarcastically as he heaved himself off the glass covered floor. "Glad to see your boyfriend is doing fine too."

"Now is not the time," Steve said urgently. "I'm taking Bruce to the basement _now._ Tony, suit up. And Peter-"

"Oh that will not be necessary." Loki interrupted cooly. "Handle Banner."

"Are you sure?"

"No harm will be done to us. Thor would not dare to try." Loki said confidently and waved him off. Steve stood there for a moment, a brow cocked at the frost giant's odd behavior but eventually just nodded and ran to the elevator with a shaking Bruce.

The remaining three watched the pair leave silently before Tony spoke up. "JARVIS, I need you to prepare the-"

"Stop that. It's not necessary." Loki started to make his way towards the kitchen. The frost giant quickly grabbed a few large knives from the drawers and stuffed a few under his shirt. Another went into his jeans pocket which was concealed by the long white shirt he wore.

"And that's necessary?" Tony started, a little too harsh in his tone. He softened his voice, "Lokes, I think my suit is a little more effective."

"You need to stay out of this as it is not your fight. It is between Thor and I." Loki stated haughtily.

"But he has all of his Asgardian mojo! And you..well, I hate to hurt your feelings princess, but you fighting him is not going to go well. The odds are not in your favor."

"I may be without magic but I am not weak."

"No, but you can get _hurt._ Like seriously hurt and I can't let you-"

"Enough." Loki hissed, coming out of the kitchen and into the dining area once again. He stood as far away from the shattered windows as he could but within reach of Tony and the teenager silently watching their squabble.

"Fine. You're so full of shit Lokes." Tony huffed. "Know that I'll step in if things get too heated."

"Thank you." Loki simply said before straightening his posture to his full height, appearing as regal as he could in jeans and an oversized shirt. The stance he took on reminded Tony of the first time Loki stepped into the tower, the day during the invasion where the frost giant had tried to mind control him. From the outside it looked one hundred percent arrogant, cold, and calculating. It looked as if he was fine. But Tony inwardly sighed because he knew Loki was definitely not feeling all up to order. As he said before, the frost giant was so full of shit. Underneath the mask, the god of lies was really torn to pieces about Thor.

Tony was about to say something else when a bulky figure slammed onto the edge of the balcony on the other side of the broken glass. Shit.


	33. Don't talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thor finally talks to Loki.

Loki felt his heart slam violently against his ribcage, beating rapidly almost as if it wanted to burst through his bones and tear his insides apart. His breath was quick to catch up with the actions of his beating heart and quickened so that he was inhaling faster than exhaling. Fear paralyzed him for a split second as Thor's form came in view but he swallowed it all down his throat like a big chunk of meat that wasn't chewed properly.

To protect his pride he slipped on the mask he hadn't worn in a long while. A cool smile fell upon his lips and he narrowed his eyes just enough to look spiteful. He moved over so that he was in front of the dining table and concealed his shaking hands by holding them behind his straight back. Behind him, he felt Tony ushering the teenager to the opposite side. The table would serve as a border between them and the inevitable fight.

The Asgardian blond finally strode in the room, stepping right through the broken glass pane with his hammer out in one hand. Loki blinked, mask slipping for half a second to examine his brot- his...what ever Thor was to him now.

He had expected an angry Thor, one with a haughty gaze and blond hair that would trail way past the nape of his next. He had expected a Thor who'd simply snatch him away from the people who he came to care for. He had expected yelling and a grip around his throat as he struggled for breath.

He did not get any of that.

Thor approached him with a hesitant stride, his shoulders hunched forward, and a strange limp as if he were injured. His ex-brother stopped just a few feet before him and regarded him with a guarded expression. There was no emotion on his face so Loki shifted his gaze to his eyes. He saw exactly what he did not expect there.

Sentiment.

Hurt.

Regret.

Loki took a moment to look Thor over, making sure his own expression held as much confidence as he did not feel. Thor's hair had grown a lot but it was carefully braided back. He had a strange dent in one of his breastplates and what looked like dried blood on his side. Thor looked like he had come out of a battle without changing clothes or fixing himself up. That was strange and the frost giant came to the conclusion that Thor _needed him_ for something. He logically assumed he needed someone to help fight some Asgardian battle. He would refuse.

"Thor," Loki began, making sure his name was said with a snarl. "It is nice of you to make an appearance at last."

"'Thor will have to come and get me himself', isn't that what you said?" Thor responded, his voice strained. He was definitely injured, Loki thought. Good. That meant he could escape.

"I rather be dragged down to hel than to see your face," Loki spat. "It appears Hela did not get the message."

"Greetings man of iron," Thor said tiredly to Tony. He had elected to ignore Loki's last sentence. He turned to Peter. "And greetings Midgardian boy. I do not believe I am acquainted with you?"

"Peter Parker. Also known as the amazing Spiderman who kicks lots of ass after school hours. Sup'?"

Tony rolled his eyes at the spider man's response and took a step forward. "Thor, you're obviously not welcomed here. You should leave."

"We are allies, are we not?" Thor asked, confusion the first emotion to etch itself on his face.

"We _were_ but I kinda want to call it off, Hammer Time." Tony paused. "You dropped Lokes off through my _ceiling_ , he was completely defenseless, you sent in agents who ruined our party, and then five minutes ago you destroyed one whole wall. I don't think you're being very...friendly."

"My apologies, friend Stark." Thor said sheepishly. "How may I ever repay you for the 'bridges I have burned' as you say?"

"By leaving." Loki hissed. "Or dying. Or how about you leave and then find a way to get yourself killed?"

"Loki." Thor said, suddenly looking many many years older.

"What is it that you want, Odinson?!" Loki shouted. "You made yourself very clear that you did not want me! We are no longer associated, you have no business with me."

"No, Loki, it was _you_ who wanted nothing to do with me."

"How so?!" Loki was yelling now. "All I ever wanted was to be appreciated yet you'd leave me unnoticed. All I ever wanted was some warmth from the people who I called family, but you all just left me cold!"

"And how cold have you become now Loki?" Thor said and Loki looked away. "How many times have I said I loved you but you just stabbed me in the back? You pointed out what was wrong right before your trial and I tried my hardest to fix it. But you would never allow me to call you brother-"

"Because you are naught."

"Not by blood, but blood does not matter."

"For someone who claims to love me, your actions do not quite add up." Loki hissed.

"You forced my hand and my anger." Thor dismissed it. A tear rolled down his cheek. "And I am sincerely sorry for what I have done. What I did was wrong and reckless. You could have been killed in that fall, tortured by any Midgardian who recognized you, or worse could have happened to you. I am grateful that you are well cared for."

With that the Asgardian stepped forward until he was within hugging distance of Loki. He dropped his hammer to the ground and brought his large arms up to form a hug...

...and Loki stabbed him with one of his concealed knives. Right in the middle of his chest, Loki pushed the knife in halfway to the hilt. Thor recoiled, stepping away in surprise. Tony decided to pick that moment to screw Loki's wishes of staying out of their cat fight. He grabbed some napkins and ran around the table towards Thor.

"What the fuck, Loki?! He was apologizing!" Tony shot Loki a disappointed look before stopping in front of Thor.

Thor simply pulled the knife out of his chest and took a moment to examine it. He looked distraught, borderline angry, but was doing a good job of keeping it in. Tony gave him the napkins and Thor dabbled them a bit on the wound before crumpling them up. There was not too much blood; regular Midgardian kitchen knives would not severely injure him, but it did kill some of his pride. He should have known better, he told himself. Loki was still a treacherous snake.

With a barely there nod at his ex-brother that said, _I'll come back later_ , Thor backed up to the broken window panes with his hammer back in his hand. With a sorry expression towards Tony, he started waving his hammer and was gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope my Thor isn't too OOC... D:


	34. A heavier rain

"You know Loki, you can be an idiot at times." Tony hissed as JARVIS closed the elevator doors closed. The short man crossed his arms and leaned against the wall, waiting for the descent down to the ground floor. Loki stood sulkily at the opposite end of the elevator, Peter sandwiched between the two men. "If you're trying to kill Thor, I suggest you use a knife filled with some of your hocus pocus juju cause' there's no way in hell a regular kitchen knife is going to do much damage. Bullets bounce off that guy's skin and handling lightning is his party trick."

"Stop chiding me as I am not in the mood."

"Stop trying to get yourself killed, I'm not in the mood for that!" Tony shot back harshly. It silenced Loki for the moment so the iron man continued. "Damn it, why didn't you just let me suit up?! Stabbing him didn't help anything, you're lucky he didn't hit you because he looked just about ready to!"

"That oaf put his _arms around me!_ As if I had forgiven him for his actions!" Loki yelled back. "What was I supposed to do? Allow him to simply say those empty words and then whisk me away back to Asgard? To rot away in a cell once again?"

"No!" Tony said, exasperated. "You could have- You just- Ugh!"

The iron man pounded his fist against the wall. Peter jumped at the sudden movement and sniffled. The teenager felt very much out of place, a little anxious, and really did not want to be caught in the middle of any of this.

"Guys..." Peter began hesitantly, not wanting them to continue shouting around him.

"He is going to come back." Loki remarked as if the teenager hadn't spoken. "He is. Thor never gives up and he is going to return to try to take me once again!"

"No he won't," Tony said, tone a little softer than before. "I won't let him take you."

"With what power? You are only mortal. He is Asgardian, and though I have no doubt you can hold your own against him, he is far stronger when in rage."

"I _promise you_ , Loki. He's not going to take you." Tony said seriously, jaw clinched. "Sure, I can't ensure you won't see him again, that he won't break me, or that he'd break down a window or two, or convert New York into New Seattle-"

"You are rambling."

"-but I will not let him hurt or take you away. Not without a fight."

"Hmm." Loki hummed quietly. "I do not do well with promises. They tend to lead to a false sense of hope."

"Trust me on this." Tony reached around Peter to grab Loki's hand. "I swear, this promise will be kept."

"Okay." was all Loki said as the two met each other's gaze and Tony let a lopsided smile form on his face.

"Okay." He responded.

"Okay," Peter said, squirming uncomfortably. "Can you two save this weird suspiciously non-platonic stuff for when I'm not in the room?"

The spider man was ignored.

* * *

Steve looked like absolute hell when they finally arrived on the ground floor. Blond hair disheveled and button-up shirt wrinkled to a point of no return, the captain's expression was hard. He was in one of those moments where he appeared his true age almost like a typewriter in the middle of a computer lab. And he looked very tired. Oh, _very_ tired.

The trio stepped out of the elevator and walked up to the captain who was hunched over on a couch against the wall facing them.

Underneath their feet they immediately heard dull thudding and roaring. Something on the floor below was pounding away at the ceiling, causing the floor to vibrate softly. The other guy was obviously out but safely in the basement. Tony took a moment to sigh and appreciate the fact that the basement had been reinforced and designed specifically to contain the hulk. He swallowed a few pangs of guilt about the room as he remembered exactly who was behind the rage monster - Bruce Banner, one of his best friends.

"How long has he been hulking out?" Tony asked, not missing a beat.

"A good fifteen minutes. The Other Guy will probably be at it for about thirty more." Steve replied, shifting so that he appeared ready for action. "What happened? Are you all okay? What does he want?"

"Me of course." Loki sniffed. "We are as I speculated - unharmed."

"Princess here stabbed Thor with a knife after Blondie tried to bear hug him." Tony snorted at the surprised expression on Steve's face before continuing. "But Thor left. He's going to come back anytime soon."

"So...what next?" Peter asked as he sunk down next to the captain and tried his best not to look like a lost puppy in all of the drama unfolding.

Loki shrugged. "I would say we flee, but it would do us no good. He would simply follow us."

"Wouldn't want to bring the thunderstorms with us." Tony said.

"Thunderstorms?" Steve asked before a roaring clap of thunder shook the building and all eyes turned to the glass door to see the first heavy sheets of rain to fall.

"It's raining because you fucking stabbed him." Tony whined, really really _really_ tired of it being dreary with rain.

"Can we move past that, Tony?" Loki snapped back. "I believe we have more to worry about than some mere rain."

"The Hulk is in the basement." Peter offered up helpfully.

"Can you just go somewhere? Like, do your web thingy back home?" Tony jabbed a finger to his shoulder then pointed to the doors. "Away? You're one of our problems right now."

"What did I do?"

"You're just here. You know you're still a minor and though I'm pretty confident in the way we built those walls down there," Tony pointed to the floor, "I don't think we should take any chances and have you get hurt. Not to mention we don't know when Hammer Time will come back. It could be a few days, an hour, hell, even a month. But until it all calms down..."

"...It is best for you not to be in any possible danger." Loki finished. "You have become a friend of mine and I would hate to see you harmed in the middle of my fight."

"I don't want to get sued either for having a teenager get injured on my grounds." Tony mumbled.

"The rain is pretty heavy though.." Peter drawled slowly, not liking the look of it. A nice puddle that was probably a half foot deep had already formed outside the door and he wasn't too keen on putting his foot in it. Not too mention how it was hard to see anything past the gray blurs that was the pounding of rain.

"I'm sure Happy can give you a ride home." Steve offered up, giving a pointed look to Tony. Tony waved his hand as if it was all cool with him. The iron man quickly asked JARVIS to call Happy and the arrangements were made. Once Peter left, they all took a seat on the couch and sat in silence, each one of them trying to think of a way out of their situation.

After thirty minutes the pounding underneath their feet did not stop nor did the rain. Tired of thinking about the subject, Loki opted to rest his head against Tony's shoulder and watch the rain fall. Eventually Tony gave up on the subject too and responded to the physical contact by resting his head against Loki's. The silence stretched on from something dreadfully empty to companionable as the two tried to think about anything other than Thor. They didn't even notice when the din underneath them finally stopped or Steve getting up to leave.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **A/N: Why didn't anyone spam me with Leonardo Dicaprio pictures?! If I don't update within a week, please drop me a PM or an ask on my tumblr (my blog moved to assguardingloki). Really, I need to stop being lazy with my free time and write! I have everything plotted out so all I need to do is write it!**
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> **Thank you so much for the reviews as they do motivate me! They make my day and bring a smile to my face. ((:**
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> **I'm SO sorry if the fic does not make sense or if their characters are off! I'll try my best to write them as well as I can. Anddd don't hate Thor. I love Thor, he's actually my favorite Avenger. One, because he can be so chill and I love it. Two, the relationships he has with characters around him are so beautiful just like with Loki. I seriously love the dynamic the two brothers have as well as the relationship the two have with other characters. I honestly have trouble writing them in this particular story because I feel like I struggle with capturing the dynamic.**
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> **I also am sorry Loki isn't "Loki enough", whatever that means. He isn't as aggressive or deceitful or violent enough apparently. I'm soooo sorry, I can try to add more of that in, but to be honest this isn't really the story for loco!Loki. If you want loco!Loki I'm sure A Winter Flight can satisfy you? I don't know, sorry!**
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> **Just a warning, we haven't seen the last of Pepper Potts. Please, please, _please_ try not to hate on her for getting in the way of your ship! She's a beautiful character and I have received some anons over tumblr slamming her. Not cool**
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> **I apologize for the long author's note! I have just been getting a lot of commentary over time that I could not quite answer privately because it was done through anons. Anyway, until next week!**


	35. Tin man

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> gross sobbing what am i doing

He couldn't sleep. He just wasn't able to get a full night's rest anymore, no matter how tight he closed his eyes. And when he did manage to drift off to sleep, he could not dream.

It had only been two days since Thor's visit and Loki spent each night staring at his wall. He was bombarded by his own paranoia of the ceiling being ripped open and him getting sucked out of the building, up to Thor or Asgard. He did not want to go.

When he really thought it over, Thor had no real reason to suddenly want his presence once again. Things did not add up quite right; why throw him out only to come back for him? Asgard must be in real trouble. The only reason he could fathom Thor wanting his return would be to expose his magical ability or cunning - nothing else. Or maybe Odin deemed Loki too dangerous to remain on Midgard and wanted him to rot away in an Asgardian cell once again. That did not quite add up either. Dangerous? How?

Not knowing what his fate would be scared him.

Regardless of the reason, he knew he did not _want to go_. Not back to the silence. Not back to the rage. Not back to the self-loathing as his only companion. Not back to that bottomless pit that his family seemed to add to his very being save for Frigga. Frigga was the only light Asgard seemed to have.

His adoptive mother was the only person in that realm that he knew loved him. He wished she would visit him if he had to return. She was not permitted to the first time he was in that cell.

Insomnia was a beast he simply could not slay. Eventually it bothered him to the point where he got up in the middle of the night and walked down the hallway to Tony's room. Without a word, half of the reason was to not wake him, the half feared rejection, Loki would climb into his bed. He would lay down on the far side, and stare at the light glow of Tony's chest. His arc reactor, the mechanical heart in Loki's mind, pulsed slightly with each heartbeat. It was calming but it only brought the volume of the screaming in his head down. It wasn't enough.

He tried to sleep but though Tony's presence gave him comfort, it was not enough. Nothing was enough.

Loki would leave when light appeared between the blinds in the window. Since it had been raining nonstop, the light came through feebly. He asked JARVIS not to tell Tony about his late night visits. He had a feeling it would seem a little..."creepy". The last thing he wanted was for Tony to freak out.

* * *

"Does he even sleep anymore?" Tony asked JARVIS, standing in the kitchen and getting his cup of coffee. The iron man was unusually up early that morning, but only because he had been woken up by a shift in weight on his bed. He had rolled over sleepily and managed to catch a glance of Loki's retreating figure. Being _very_ confused, Tony asked JARVIS what happened.

Seeing that JARVIS technically did not tell Tony - instead Tony found out on his own - JARVIS showed the iron man the surveillance footage from the nights Loki visited.

"Sir, he seems to receive only four hours of sleep a night."

"Insomnia then." Tony mused, taking a deep sip of black coffee. In that moment, Bruce decided to walk in the room, yawning and stretching. Tony wasted no time turning to him. "Yo, Lokes is having some insomnia. Possible causes?"

"I'm not that type of doctor." Bruce stumbled around Tony to grab some granola from a cabinet.

"You're no help," the iron man rolled his eyes. "I'm deducting your pay."

"I don't work for you."

"Seriously though, how can I help him?"

Bruce stuck his hand into the bag to start munching on granola. Tony snatched the bag out of his hand and threw it on the counter.

"Bruce!" Tony whined.

"Fine! I'm starving though, I didn't get any of Steve's lasagna last night," He retrieved his breakfast while Tony pouted. "Insomnia is usually an indication of stress and depression. Not too surprising given recent events. We can try to help it by getting him to relax."

"Quite a task." Tony grumbled.

"Yeah, considering it's Loki," Bruce chuckled. "Bag of cats, my friend. Bag of cats."

* * *

Mid-day came by slowly and Loki was still cooped up in his room. Of course, the frost giant did not spend all that time staring at the wall. He tried to distract his thoughts by watching a few movies. He played one-sided chess. He even finished reading Hamlet for the twelfth time. Nothing worked.

He did not want to leave the safety of his room, save only once for food. It was completely irrational, but he felt safer in his room than out in the common space where one section of the glass wall of the balcony was completely flattened. Yes, it was facing repairs, but he felt it was too exposed. Too much of a vulnerable place for Thor to return to.

Loki twirled a knife between his fingers as he stared at the screen in front of him. The television was brand new; it was a present from Tony a while ago. _The Wizard of Oz_ was currently playing on it. Though he appreciated the theme and ideas behind the story, he felt it was a little...stupid. The straw male that the young girl had first enlisted in her quest was very foolish. He was seeking a brain for wisdom, but did it ever occur to him that he already had one? How else would he think or breathe?

The lion man was even worse. A lion that was scared and cowardly - oh the irony! But Loki wanted to facepalm so much, he should know it was brave of him to voice his fears and issues to a complete stranger. He accompanied the girl in the red shoes on her quest which was quite noble. How could he not see that?

And then there was the only character he sympathized with in the whole movie: the tin man. What a poor soul, thinking he lacked the ability to love. He thought he was a cold machine without a heart. But really, he showed so much care for everyone around him. It reminded him vaguely of Tony and he chuckled when he realized both men were metal.

Speaking of the devil, there was a knock at the door which Loki called out, "Come in."

Tony immediately poked his head in to grin at the frost giant perched in front of the screen. "Hey there Frosty."

"Tin man." Loki retorted, moving aside nonchalantly to show Tony that he can sit down next to him on the edge of the bed. "What brings you to my wonderful domain?"

"You sound upbeat today," Tony took the invitation. "I'm scared."

"Be quiet," Loki tried to say jokingly, but his voice cracked midway. "I have just discovered the classic film of ' _The Oz'_ which is entertaining but absurd. Nevertheless, I am entertained."

"So you like it then, Lokes?"

"I suppose."

"How surprised were you to find out the wizard was a fake?" Tony asked, looking at the screen to figure out where in the story he was. The scene was right before the confrontation of the wicked witch.

"Thoroughly disappointed." Loki admitted. "I was looking forward to seeing some magic. I haven't seen any in a long time-"

"Wait! Shh, watch this," Tony said abruptly, pointing to the screen.

Loki sat there engrossed, watching as Dorothy threw a bucket of water at the witch. The green lady melted from the impact. He couldn't help but snort. "What is wrong with Midgardians? Really? A simple bucket of water to defeat a magic user?"

"It's brilliant." Tony snickered as Loki shook his head slowly.

"This movie continues to disappoint." He was expecting some type of dramatic showdown in which Dorothy reflects the witch's magic with the power of love, and caring, and all that squishy heart stuff Midgardians were so fond of. But nope. Just a bucket of water. What a lame ass ending.

After the movie finally ended, Loki promptly turned off the tv and leaned back. No more for that day. He couldn't handle it. Loki turned his attention to Tony, a brow raised.

"What do you need?"

"What? I can't just spend time with my favorite-" Tony stopped when Loki's eye twitched. It was best he not finish that sentence then. "I just want to spend time with you."

"Mhmm." Loki hummed.

"Wanted to have some fun, maybe play some chess, relieve some stress."

"Hmmmm."

"It's what friends do! Hang out, y'know?" Tony elbowed him.

"I appreciate the effort, but I am not in the mood for Midgardian chess." Loki finally said. "It involves too much thinking."

Tony snorted. "You're starting to sound like an American. Watch it."

"With the amount of time I've spent here, I am not surprised."

"So what's bothering you?" Tony finally asked. "You always enjoy thinking and beating my ass in chess."

"What do you think?" Loki snapped before returning to his usual warm tone he used with Tony. "I'm sorry. He worries me."

"Lokes, I promised you-"

"I know!" he took a breath, "I know. It still doesn't dismiss the fact that he's never going to leave me alone."

"I-"

 _Boom_. The lights flickered and were accompanied by a loud crash of glass. What sounded like Steve's scream followed. Tony jumped up to his feet along with Loki.

"JARVIS, get a suit ready as soon as possible! Thor needs to go."

"Sir," the AI responded politely. "I must inform you that Thor is nowhere near the facility."

The two ran out the door and down the hall to see what was going on. It was a false alarm, thank goodness for Loki's heart.

They found Steve lying on the floor with broken glass surrounding his figure. He had his arms wrapped protectively around some black mass of feathers. A small towel was lying just a few feet away from him. The taped over door to the balcony was wide open, the harsh rain bringing water inside the tower. Tony was quick to shut it close before helping Steve to his feet.

"What happened?" Loki demanded, eyes rapidly switching between the door and the glass on the floor.

"Not your brother," Steve replied sheepishly, still cradling whatever was in his arms. Bruce arrived with a medical kit and a broom. Steve nodded to him before continuing, "I'm sorry. I was sketching when this bird flew into the window. I wanted to help it out so I grabbed a bowl to fill up with water and a towel. But while I was walking back in, a lot of lightning struck the balcony. It scared me and I...fell."

"You could have been electrocuted." Loki whispered, shaking his head. "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault," the captain said, setting the bird down on the towel. It chirped softly. "I was just trying to help the little guy out."

"How noble." Loki mused before turning heel and practically running back to his room. The avengers watched him leave with frowns.

"What do I do?" Tony finally sighed, rubbing his face in frustration. He was not the best person for this feeling stuff. He was starting to think he wasn't good at healing either and maybe he was causing Loki more pain.

* * *

Nothing worked.

In his head, a voice kept chanting _not safe, not safe, not safe..._

The captain almost got killed because Loki was the cause of Thor's storms. It was all indirectly Loki's fault and he realized the situation did not just involve him anymore. As long as he was around his friends, they were in danger. They could get hit in the crossfire, something he did not want them to experience. Especially Tony...

The iron man promised to protect him at any cost. Loki did not want to see him fight that hard for his safety. Loki was not worth it.

_He wasn't worth anything. Frost giant._

He needed to leave. He needed to go somewhere far from New York, somewhere Tony could not follow him fast enough. Thor would follow him once he left, leaving Tony safe from having to be involved in the conflict. But how could he leave?

He thought about it. Tony did say he had multiple places of dwelling. Loki could escape to one of them and then travel around the state. Didn't Tony say he had a mansion in a place called Malibu? It was across the country and would be perfect. But how to get there? He couldn't drive there as that means of transport was too slow. Oh how he wished he still had his magic! He was so weak without it. He would not even be in this hole if he had it.

Tony has a private jet he remembered. That would be perfect if he could use it in the late night and arrive before everyone woke up.

How could he use it? He could think of only one person who actively used the jet but was sure she would not approve of doing business with him. But maybe her hatred for him was strong enough to use to his advantage if he offered her something she could not refuse.

"JARVIS," Loki said quietly. "Do not tell anyone in this building about this next command, don't even record it."

"Sir, if what you request is detrimental to your health, it will be denied."

"Tis' not," Loki responded cooly. "Allow me to get a private call with Lady Pepper Potts."

* * *

It wasn't too long when night finally fell and Loki dragged his small bag of belongings with him. Inside was a few pair of his clothes, one small book, and that sweater he had come to love so fondly. He also took a bit of the captain's pie to munch on later. He loved that pie so much.

Everyone in the tower was sound asleep as it was around two in the morning. The frost giant dropped his stuff off by the elevator before taking in the view of the room, committing the beloved floor he found home to memory. Oh how quickly things seemed to change for him; what was once his paradise was now another one of his mental hells.

He walked down the hall to enter Tony's room for a good bye. The light of the arc reactor greeted him and he trudged forward to look at the iron man's face in the dark. He felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude towards the mortal man. Tony, the tin man. He had saved Loki from himself, picked him up, took care of him. Showed him so much more care than any of his family ever did in the centuries that he lived. Loki owed Tony so much. Tony did not have to be so nice to him. They were enemies before.

Loki didn't deserve it.

He closed his eyes to take a breath from his nose.

He wasn't worth it.

This was probably the last time Loki would see Tony in a long time. The frost giant brushed some of his brunette hair away from his closed eye lids, careful not to let his unnaturally cold skin rouse the man from his sleep. He couldn't move. For what seemed like forever, he silently cried, not wanting to go. But he had to.

His time was ticking and if he stayed...

"I'll see you again soon." he rasped before leaning down to plant a soft kiss on his lips. It was faintly a whisper, barely a touch of skin, but it was enough.

He did not know that Tony was awake.

The frost giant quietly reached into his pocket and withdrew a lone paperclip. It was the same one Tony had given him to protect. Since spending so much time researching Midgardian life, he had found out the paperclip was not really a being. It was a lie Tony had told him, but a cute one meant to comfort him. He appreciated it, but it no longer served it's purpose. Loki turned heel and closed the door just as he had nights before. And Tony, thinking Loki was simply following the new routine, watched him go. But he pondered what all of that was about. He wished he could figure the frost giant out sometimes.

* * *

He met Pepper at the front of the tower out in the sheets of rain. The woman nodded solemnly and Loki returned the gesture. It was time to leave.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> * * *
> 
> **A/N: Super long chapter today. I really just combined two because I felt like it flowed better. Thanks for the reviews~**
> 
> **If you want to cry, I suggest reading the last part while listening to the song "Song to say goodbye" by Placebo. Just saying.**


	36. Cold Chill

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> how the hell do they not notice he's gone?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh well

She placed two wine glasses on the table in between them. The frost giant kept his gaze down on his lap, waiting for the tell tale signs of lift off. He was waiting impatiently for the plane to take off and fly away to his new refuge. He wasn't sure why they hadn't departed yet as they had been sitting there for ten minutes straight. Neither of them had said a single word and the silence still hung heavily around them. Loki could feel Pepper's gaze bore into him and he resisted the urge to fidget.

* * *

_"Tis' not," Loki responded cooly. "Allow me to get a private call with Lady Pepper Potts."_

_"Sir," the AI replied. "Are you sure?"_

_"Yes," Loki said. "Please JARVIS. It's important."_

_He was met with silence for a couple of minutes until abruptly the sound of a phone dial reverberated off the walls of his room. Loki jumped at the sudden beeping, still not entirely used to Midgardian technology. It was not that the technology was too advanced for him - compared to Asgard's technology, Midgard was still stone age - but sudden realization that he was actually carrying out his makeshift plan. He was actually running away._

_"Tony?" came Pepper's voice after the third ring. Her voice was light and hesitant as if she was wondering whether or not Tony was calling her sober. He took a breath._

_"Lady Potts."_

_"Loki," she said, voice becoming hard and monotone. "I knew you were trouble. What have you done with Tony?"_

_"Nothing." Loki said. "Tony is fine. I would never harm him."_

_"Again."_

_"Never again," he said, wincing as he remembered his invasion on New York. "That is besides the point. I need...to ask you a favor, one that is very important-"_

_"Why should I help you?"_

_"It will perhaps keep Tony out of any danger if done right," he said. "I cannot remain here any longer. I must take my leave tonight at the latest. It is urgent."_

_There was a pause as Pepper considered everything on the other side of the line. Loki held his breath, hoping her care for the inventor and her hatred for Loki would work in his favor. She would want to keep Tony safe from harm; though she acted distant towards Tony, she still cared a lot about him. Not quite romantically, but Tony was still one of her friends. He understood she stayed away because she was hoping it would help Tony get over their split. Well, that was the reason Loki thought of anyway._

_Pepper did not like Loki. She still held a grudge over the invasion, which was understandable. She also thought he had ulterior motives for being at the tower which was understandable, especially with Steve's constant reports. Steve would report on the numerous times Loki allowed him to draw him, the many chess games, and how humorous the frost giant was. Pepper would raise an eyebrow, wary that all that would change in the form of a knife in Steve's back and warned him accordingly. Of course, Pepper was never directly rude or mean to him. She still regarded him, though very cooly, with respect. That was something he could respect her for._

_Loki hoped Pepper would take the bite he was offering. A two birds with one stone scenario. If Loki left, she would not have to deal with him. Without having his presence at the tower, Tony would be safer._

_"Fine. Where do you plan on going?" She finally responded and Loki mentally cheered._

_"Malibu, where I will travel around, but Tony must not know. No one can know but you and I. I need to disappear."_

* * *

"Loki?"

Pepper's hesitant voice jarred Loki out of his thoughts and back to the present time. He jumped slightly before taking the time to glance out at the windows. It appeared that they were moving, few lights scattered throughout the countryside below. It was still as dark as it was before he fell into his trance. Good. He hadn't withdrawn to his thoughts for too long then.

"We have departed?" Loki asked.

"Yes," Pepper said slowly. "Thirty minutes ago. I asked you if you wanted some scotch?"

He nodded quickly, looking around the cabin but refused to rest his forest-like gaze on the strawberry blonde. She poured the alcoholic beverage into his glass before filling hers in turn. Without another word, Pepper sipped her drink slowly and rested her back against her seat. From the corner of Loki's eye he could see that she was patiently watching him as if to she expected him to say something. Or do something.

Sighing, he finally turned to her and picked up his own glass. He fixed his gaze onto hers as he took a long drag and finally spoke again only when she started to squirm at the uncomfortable length of eye contact. Loki placed his glass back on the table with mild satisfaction. "I assume you want to know the reason behind me asking for this favor."

"Yes. I was hoping it was a good one too, as I had to cancel quite a few conferences for you."

"I must apologize Lady Potts," Loki actually did feel a bit guilty. She didn't have to do that for him.

"It's fine," she shrugged. "Anything to ensure Tony is safe from any harm."

"You care for him, yet you insist on being so distant," Loki asked. "Why?"

"He hates being mothered." Pepper said, eyes narrowing. "I thought giving him some space would keep him from trying to be a rebellious teenager who tries to get himself killed."

"But sometimes people need to be coddled. It distracts them from partaking in activities such as drinking themselves to death in fear of being alone."

"Why do you care so much about him?" Pepper asked. "Or should I ask why do you pretend to?"

"I do not pretend."

"You're a psychopath and you're known as 'the god of lies'. I'm sorry to say, but I'm not convinced that you're not using everyone for your advantage."

"Then why would I be here on this jet, flying across the country to lure my brother away from New York? Why would I go through the trouble of calling you and making sure Tony stays safe at our home?"

"Home?" Pepper raised a brow. "Since when was Stark Towers your _home_?"

"Since the day Tony elected to care for me instead of tossing me out into the night." Loki hissed. "I do not care if you mistrust or despise me, truly you have all rights to. But at least trust the fact that I am in debt to Tony, and the least I can do is protect him."

The cabin was plunged in silence as the two regarded each other with open glares. They both drained their glasses and Pepper was quick to refill them.

"Fine. So what is this about luring your brother away from New York?" she said once she halfway drained the second glass.

"He is not my brother," Loki said quickly. Pepper smirked; the frost giant _had_ called Thor his brother earlier. She heard him. "But Thor is chasing me down. He arrived a few days ago and demanded that I depart with him. He left but promised to come back. Given the fact that he damaged tower and before my arrival in Midgard he, uhm as Tony says, 'beat the shit out of me', I expect his return to be violent. Personally I do not want to fight him nor do I want to return to Asgard with him. So instead of risking the damage, I've elected to take the coward's way out and flee."

"But what if he goes back to the tower still thinking you're there and takes out a few floors looking for you?" Pepper asked. "You're plan isn't exactly going to ensure Tony's safety."

"I was not finished," Loki said, taking a sip of his drink before continuing. "Before I departed from the tower, I laid down a clue on the balcony for him."

"Which is...?" Pepper asked.

"A letter. The letter is written in Old Norse and therefore none of the Avengers can translate it," he paused. "I hope. I highly doubt anyone will go out to the balcony anytime soon so it should be safe for now. But I need your help in laying down the rest of the bread crumbs."

"How do you propose we do that?"

"Before I answer," Loki said. "I propose we form a short alliance. For the sake of keeping things smooth and successful, I think we both need to set aside our mutual distrust and loathing. We have similar goals after all and a partnership would be logical. I promise to keep you out of harms way if you promise not to betray me in any way."

"Fine," Pepper said after a pause. "But know I can only give you about a week. I'm CEO of a major company and I have things to keep in order. Also, we'll have to include Happy on this. He's currently piloting though."

"Fine."

And the two shook hands before Loki continued.

"It is going to be very risky considering SHIELD and the Midgardian authorities are out there but," Loki grinned. Pepper did not like the sound of that at all. "We need to make a few stops before we reach Malibu, my Lady Potts."

* * *

Tony woke up with a strange feeling nudging his insides, just above his arc reactor. It was a sign that something was off but he quickly brushed it aside as he got up to take a shower. He jacked off as he usually did (he may or may not thought about a certain raven-haired man but forcibly pushed him aside for typical busty females), trimmed his goatee, and brushed his teeth. The iron man got dressed in his usual casual band tee with jeans and even stretched before exiting his room. The feeling above the arc reactor remained. Something was off.

He went into the kitchen after the smell of freshly baked muffins lured him in. The captain greeted him with a smile and the two sat down to start eating as they waited for the other residents of the tower to come for breakfast.

Bruce came in once Tony started grabbing for another blueberry muffin to shove down his throat. The three of them made easy conversation until the minutes stretched on. The food they set aside for Loki grew cold and they shrugged it off as the frost giant isolating himself once more.

"I thought you were going to work on that," Bruce said tiredly, wrapping up the two muffins and putting them inside the fridge.

"I am," Tony said. "Just give him some time. Maybe he just overslept or something. He came to my room later than usual last night anyway."

"He did what?" Steve asked, turning a shade pink. "H-He went to your room d-doing what?"

"Fondue." Tony said and grinned when Steve's pallor darkened. "I'm just kidding Spangles. He came in to say goodnight and left."

"Try spending a little more time with him," Bruce suggested.

"I was planning on it." Tony said.

The three went their separate ways after that to do whatever their routine called for. Tony decided to give Loki a few more hours alone before he went in to try to talk to him. The iron man elected to spending those hours of waiting in the workshop to work on a quick project. The feeling above his reactor told him otherwise, but soon he was fully focused on his work.

He didn't even know the day had flown by until JARVIS interrupted him to announce dinner. Shit. Tony quickly scolded the AI for not letting him know when just a couple hours had passed by and made his way to the kitchen. Why hadn't he been notified like he asked? Come to think of it, JARVIS was disturbingly quiet. It was rather odd and Tony made a mental note to update the AI later.

The muffins were still sitting in the fridge and Loki was absent from dinner. The Avengers sat down and asked JARVIS to notify Loki that they would like him to attend dinner. JARVIS did notify Loki, but unknown to them, the AI relayed the message to the frost giant in the cabin of the jet many miles away from the tower. Loki politely refused, somewhat surprised that they still did not notice his absence. But oh, they would know soon enough, he thought as the jet landed in an open field. They'd know.

After waiting for several more minutes, the three men grew extremely worried. The captain had cooked chicken with broccoli casserole; that was one of Loki's favorite dishes that Steve cooked. He always came quickly when Steve cooked casserole.

The three of them sat in fear as theories of why Loki seemed so quiet all day settled in. Tony had to speak up in order to dodge one particular idea in his head that maybe the frost giant had had enough and somehow found a way to off himself-

"I'll go check on him," Tony said suddenly. He jumped up and practically ran down the hallway to Loki's room. He felt his heart beat frantically as he banged on the door. Why did he even go to his workshop? Why hadn't JARVIS let him know the time that had passed? He felt horrible for leaving Loki alone all day.

"Lokes?" he called out, banging still. After no response, he twisted the door knob to find the door open. He pushed his way inside and was met with darkness. Quickly, he flicked on the lights and looked around. It looked like the room was vacant. There was no traces of Loki's belongings or Loki himself. Puzzled, Tony walked around in search for the frost giant. He wasn't there.

A cold chill ran down his back and that feeling above his arc reactor pulsed. He was gone. Tony asked JARVIS if Loki was even in the tower. The AI responded by giving him the departure time of the raven haired man. He was gone. And that was when Tony noticed a small slip of paper on the bed's pillows. He picked it up - it was a letter from Loki, addressed to him. His dark brown eyes scanned it quickly before his mouth fell open and he let it drop to the floor before he joined it.

Tony laid there feeling as if his nonexistent heart had been pounded out of his chest. Even worse was the sour taste that came with failing to keep a promise and the emptiness a significant other leaves behind when they walk out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> * * *
> 
> **A/N: Thanks for the reviews! It's been over a week since last update - still no DiCaprio pictures. Oh well. I saw Captain America: A Winter Soldier and it was AWESOME! I believe _NCIS FTW_ stated that their favorite Avenger is Steve and I can see why! Originally I wasn't a big fan of him but I've warmed up to him a lot. Same with Bucky. I /might/ write a fic centering around them later, not sure yet, but knowing me I might stick frostiron in there somewhere. It's hard for me to write a Marvel related fic without either of my two babies, haha.**
> 
> **ANYWAY! Uhm, sorry I ranted. Thanks for the views and support please enjoy~**


	37. Petty crimes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> very minor mention of attempted non-con

They flew down a few states before stopping for the night as Pepper decided she wanted to partake in one meeting via skype. Loki enjoyed resting in the hotel room for the night even though Pepper had made him sleep on the floor while she and Happy took the bed. It was still better than sleeping on the jet and the floor wasn't too bad considering it was a five star hotel.

They had landed in an open field nearby a town in Tennessee the next day. Thankfully the field was just full of wildflowers that wouldn't be missed as opposed to the crops of a farmer. Pepper watched as Loki prepared himself to get out and drop the first hint of his location. This would definitely expose him though and Pepper was very nervous with whatever action Loki was going to take.

He wasn't specific in telling her what he was going to do. All he said was that he must draw enough attention to himself and do something drastic enough for it to end up on the national news. But he also needed a place where the town was spread out and the authorities would take a while to reach him. Plus, it was likely the town only had a couple of cops given the population size. Good. That meant he could get way.

"I am going to need a gun," Loki said as he slipped one of Pepper's pink hoodies over his head. He had a small messenger bag strapped around his shoulder. He was about ready to go.

"No," Pepper said. "I'm not giving you a loaded weapon! You can't murder anyone, Loki!"

"I do not plan on it. I need bait not a body," he replied calmly. "I need a prop. And of course, a means of self defense."

Pepper exhaled sharply, closing her eyes to calm herself. "Promise me."

"Oooh, I do not believe you will trust any promises I make." He smirked playfully.

"You're right, I won't." She sighed before moving towards the cockpit to ask Happy for one. She returned with a simple revolver, handing it over to him gingerly before shrinking away from it. "Just...please don't kill anyone. I swear, if you do, I'm leaving you in the middle of this field so help me! And don't do anything illegal, please."

He only laughed. "Fine mother."

He left with a simple nod, pocketing the gun in his bag before running all the way over to the town. It took about five minutes for him to reach a store and he felt refreshed from the exercise he did. In fact, he felt pumped, though he was slightly out of shape from sitting all around the tower. He was sure going to burn that off.

He entered a small convenient store with rusted walls and a wooden sign with the words "Food Mart" written on it in sharpie. There were only a couple of customers already there, both simply milling around as if they had nothing better to do. Loki walked straight up to the checkout counter where a single employee leaned against the hard surface. It was an older lady with graying blonde hair and a bandana. She was chewing on a sunflower seed and spat it right out on the floor as Loki approached her.

The frost giant wrinkled his nose in disgust. How uncultured.

"Excuse me, Lady Marge," he said in his sweetest voice, glancing at her name tag to address her.

"How may I help you, sir?" she asked in the thickest southern voice he ever heard, looking him over and wrinkled _her_ nose at him.

"Does this store contain surveillance cameras?"

She pointed to two behind her and one in the opposite corner of the store. Marge gave him a questioning look. He smoothly pulled out his gun and pointed it at her. She jumped back with a screech.

The other customers jumped up in alarm and Loki was quick to point his weapon towards them in turn before back at Marge. "I am not sure how this 'robbing a store' thing works but know this: my name is Loki. The same Loki that lay New York to ruins. Tell your leaders that."

He shot a few rounds at the ceiling before swiping a few bags of gummy worms. "I have robbed you Midgardian! Ha tell your authorities of my crimes!" He started backing away and stared pointedly at the camera. He waved at it.

Behind him he heard a few clicks and turned to see the customers had guns of their own. Well...shit. He had not been expecting that. They started screaming at him that he had brought his alien ass to the wrong place and he agreed. He turned heel and ran as fast as he could from the store. Behind him he could hear them chase after him, but he was much faster. He ran all the way back to the plane and didn't hesitate to jump in.

* * *

Tony was a wreck. He really was.

After he discovered Loki's disappearance, he ran around the tower and grabbed all the hidden alcohol and liquor he could find. He gathered it up, locked himself in his lab, and got wasted.

He woke up spewing and with a nasty hangover. The iron man felt miserable and empty, similar to what he felt when Pepper had left. Bruce and Steve were distraught over Loki's disappearance, but even more concerned for Tony's health. They tried to reach him but JARVIS was under order to keep him locked in. They finally saw him when he resurfaced two days after the discovery. But that was when the inventor had donned his suit, drunk out of his mind, and had done some embarrassing things in public.

Tony would barely talk to them.

He simply sat in front of the television in his room surrounded by bottles and tubs of ice cream. The iron man also had JARVIS search nonstop for any mention of Loki, but so far, nothing. Nothing at all.

He had just flipped to the news when JARVIS interrupted. "Sir, I believe Thor is on the balcony."

"Bastard," Tony growled, feeling a surge of anger. He was the reason Loki had left. Tony jumped to his feet and headed out to the common room to meet him. "Get the suit ready, I want to blast his fucking Asgardian balls off. Where is he?"

"I believe he is on the balcony, sir."

The television was on. Tony paused to turn it to the news and sat down on the couch to wait. He snapped his bracelets on just as Thor knocked politely on the newly fixed glass door before walking calmly in. Well that was quite the change.

The blond stopped in front of the iron man with a stony expression.

Tony rolled his eyes before beginning. "So where the fuck is the usual glass breaking and screaming you do goldilocks?"

"My brother is not here." Thor said, almost calmly. It was weirding Tony out because he wanted Thor to be loud and obnoxious so he could yell at him.

"How the fuck do you know that?" he snapped. "And congrats big boy, he left because you wouldn't stop stalking him!"

"He left me a letter. It states, 'catch me if you can' so I assume he is beginning a game of his." Thor raised the piece of paper in his hand. "Do you know where he went off to?"

"WHY WOULD I TELL YOU?!" Tony exploded, throwing a bottle at the Asgardian's head. Thor simply swatted at it before it could hit him and it shattered on the floor. That just infuriated Tony more. "Can you just leave him alone?! You were the one who made it clear you wanted nothing to do with him, why the hell do you want him back?"

Thor just stared at him, a shadow falling across his face. The blond looked very just then, as if he were thousands of years old. And he probably was. With a sad smile he gave a dry chuckle before frowning.

"You do not know how sorry I feel, friend Stark. I let my anger get the best of me and I shall never earn forgiveness for it. I don't deserve forgiveness for the pain I've caused my brother. I do not know how to show him how much I care in a way he understands."

Tony watched as Thor sat down next to him, looking him in the eye. "You don't know at all, you son of a bitch."

"Do _**not**_ insult my mother. Not after her - ahem. But please, I'm not entirely to blame here. Don't forget how many times I've tried to repair everything, even before his fall. I've always called him brother but he never accepted that." He folded his hands together. "And he has committed many acts in the past that are in no way good natured. But you've forgiven him for that."

Thor tilted his head slightly as if to say, _so why won't you forgive me and why am I painted the bad guy?_

Tony didn't say anything as his anger dissipated. Man, all this brotherly shit and emotional crap was getting annoying. He tuned in to the news to try to escape it. On screen was grainy footage of a security camera clearing showing a figure he knew well.

"-and it appears that 'Loki' is back in action once again! The alien villain has been spotted in New Leaf, Tennessee. He has robbed a convenient store by gunpoint but only took a couple packs of gummy worms-"

"Shit!" Tony yelled and jumped to his feet. He had a lead! He turned to Thor but the god was already running out to the balcony. He swung his hammer and flew away.

* * *

Pepper had given him an earful after seeing the news report online about his robbery. Loki had responded with a grin and threw a pack of gummies at her feet. She refused to eat anything stolen.

They had landed in Kansas the next day in another wide open field. It was nighttime and Loki was wondering what to do now. SHIELD was definitely on his trail now, along with Thor, and every authority figure in the country. Thankfully no one knew about his connection with Pepper. That was a plus.

He shuffled around a much larger town than the one before, not sure what exactly to do. His bag was filled with supplies, namely his gun, duct tape, and a knife which was his weapon of choice.

This town was much more populated. In the very center was a tall marble statue of what he presumed to be the mayor while a ring of different stores surrounded the area. There was even a club nearby that Loki decided to mill around.

He was getting bored just standing by the entrance when a young woman was shoved out from the building by a young man. He started slapping her which caused alarm from Loki. She fought against him but he grabbed her wrists. The two went to a nearby alley and Loki moved from his spot to follow. He knew what to do.

"Leave her alone," he said sharply as he approached them, the guy pressing her against the wall. Loki raised his gun at him and the man obliged.

"You should go ma'am," Loki said to the woman who thanked him profusely before running away. Turning back to the man, he lead him out to the statue and taped his whole body to it. Finishing off by making a thin slice in the man's cheek, Loki smiled and admired his work.

"When they find you, tell them Loki did this to you."

* * *

With the arrival of the second incident of Loki, Tony wasn't sure what to think. Did Loki run away from home to turn to a life of petty and kind of lame crime? What in the world was going on?

He chuckled darkly to himself before donning his suit. Either way, he was heading out to find Loki and bring him back. There's no way he could expect him not to follow, not after all they went through.

He was just about to leave the tower when Steve called after him.

"Hey! Tony wait up," Steve called, running out to the balcony donned in his own suit and shield.

"No, no, Stevie you can't come with!" Tony said.

"Please I have to! He's my friend and plus this pretty crime needs to stop. It's a little annoying after all we've taught him."

"What about Bruce?"

"He's going to watch over the tower."

"Fine," Tony allowed it. "I could use the extra pair of hands."

* * *

They had landed at an airport in a nice city in Colorado. It was a miracle no one recognized Loki, but then again, they had gone through their own privacy that only big money could buy. Pepper and Happy had headed off to do some business leaving Loki around four hours of time to do whatever he pleased.

Loki was milling around the local mall, scanning through throngs of people for his next victim. He had a pretty good idea in mind involving tying someone up and sending them down an escalator. He spotted a nice sized elder man walking by too who would make the perfect target. But as he took a step forward to approach him, he was interrupted by a breath on his neck and a familiar voice in his ear.

"Policemen watching you and there's five of them. Two behind us, two by the entrance to Forever 21, and one ahead of us mingled with the crowd. Turn around and hold my hand. We'll walk into the Victoria's Secret."

Oh yes, he knew who's voice that was and chills went down his back. He wasn't going to listen to her at first but after a glance at the crowd ahead of him he obliged. Spinning around with a fake flirtatious smile, he gave the red head a peck on the cheek, and grabbed her hand.

"There you are sweetheart! Come on, let's go look at," Loki paused a second to glance over at the store dubbed 'Victoria's Secret' and resisted the urge to roll his eyes. " _lingerie._ It appears thongs are on sale today. Let me buy you some for our time together later tonight."

She responded with a giggle behind a hand, sweeping her gaze around as if she hoped no one heard that. The policemen were looking away, faces slightly pink. Good.

The two sauntered into the store and she walked Loki deep into the world of bras and thongs. Finally, they were alone in a position where they could speak. Loki sighed in relief. "Thank you, Lady Romanoff. I owe you a favor in return."

"Strange seeing your face around here," Natasha said smoothly. "And on the news every night."

"Are you going to have me arrested, agent?" Loki asked. "You have me in a corner. SHIELD would be proud."

"No," Natasha shrugged. "I don't feel like it. The game you started is too fun. Fury is having a shitstorm trying to find you and it is quite amusing."

"You are jesting."

"No, I'm on my day off."

"No you're not." Loki narrowed his eyes. "You would not be out in the middle of the country on your day off."

"Fine. You caught me. I'm currently waiting for my target to arrive," Natasha crossed her arms and leaned on a clothes rack. "I have about four hours to kill before he shows up so I decided to use that time to do some shopping. Only, while I was trying to pick out a nice pair of heels, I happen to glance up and see a familiar man walking by."

Loki looked away. She smirked before going on, "And guess what? Right behind him were two policemen trailing him. They thought you looked a _lot_ like the same Loki who destroyed New York, robbed a convenience store, and taped that man to a statue."

"In my defense, I only took a few bags of gummy worms from that store and the man was trying to rape a woman."

"You're getting really sloppy," Natasha chided him, shaking her head. "At least put on a pair of sunglasses or wear a hat or something. You're wearing the same thing you were in when you robbed that store!"

"Well I do not have any more clothes to wear. I left them at home!"

"Home?"

"Stark Towers."

Natasha gave him a funny look then before wiping all expression from her face. Loki bit his lip in slight irritation. Pepper had a similar reaction to him when he said that. "What? Do not do that to me."

"Why did you leave Stark?" she said softly. "Last I checked you two were pretty cozy together. Did you breakup?"

"We were never in a relationship." Loki raised a brow. Did she think they were a couple back then? Either way, he wasn't entirely comfortable with where the conversation was headed. He tried to fight the slight flush that came to his cheeks and suddenly became interested in his nails. Normally he would be able to keep his cool in a situation like this, but for some odd reason, the spy had that certain quality about her where it was too difficult not to squirm under her scrutiny.

"Do you like him?" A small smile formed on her lips.

"No," Loki said, voice cracking towards the end, meeting her gaze determinedly. He repeated much more firmly and with a straight face, "No. I do not harbor any feelings for that _idiot_ nor will I ever. He is simply a resource that I no longer can utilize which is why I made my departure. Besides that he is unworthy of a partner as he is way too inferior to my greatness."

That only caused Natasha's eyes to sparkle and her smile widen.

"I knew you did! Well, he definitely likes you so you have a chance," she said, a strangely playful tone Loki was surprised to hear. His face was definitely red now and played with his nails again. Did she really mean that?

"I do not believe I will ever see him again," he said sadly. "But enough on this subject!"

"Why did you leave him?" she asked again. At this point Loki figured, _why not!_

"For his safety. Thor is hunting me down for reasons unknown and it was becoming a threat to Tony's wellbeing."

"So now you're luring him away," she said, connecting the dots. "Putting down bread crumbs."

"Precisely."

"But you've chosen to expose yourself in the process. Why?"

"Fun," Loki shrugged. "I know he will reach me eventually so I figured I might as well have fun with it."

"You know Stark is following you too, right?" she had that strange smile on her face again. "You running away hasn't solved the problem of your boyfriend."

"Please let us not discuss my personal problems." Loki sighed. "Or my feelings."

"You need to discuss them with someone."

"No I do not," he snapped. "If you are so keen on talking about it, you have to tell me all the lovely gossip about your relationship with Barton."

"I'm not with Clint." she stated firmly.

"But you want to be," Loki insisted. "Or at least he wants you to be more for him. It was something he mentioned during my debut to Midgard."

"Don't talk about the mind control because I was just warming up to you," she warned, slight growl in her voice before it reverted back to the firm tone she had before. "But I don't know about Clint. We're partners at work and he's funny, but I just don't see him that way. But Steve on the other hand..."

Loki just stared at her, eyes widening in shock. Shit, had he stumbled into some sort of love triangle? "No _way_."

She just gave him that small funny little smile and chuckled. He shook his head, "No way!"

"Yes."

"Really now? Steve Rogers? You fancy the captain?"

The spy openly laughed at that before grabbing his hand and leading them out of the store. "Come on! We're going shopping. I need to grab a new pair of heels, get my nails done, and grab a dress. And you need a couple of outfits to carry you over."

Loki followed, keeping pace with the red-haired woman. Did he just...befriend the spy? That could work well towards his advantage. Plus it meant he had one less enemy to worry about.


	38. Public Indecency

Loki couldn't stop looking down at his nails to how smooth the polish was on them. It was a strong brand of nail polish he had heard, and couldn't help but appreciate how quickly it dried too. He had painted his nails black before many times during his life in Asgard, but never had it feel like this. The paints he used were made from natural ingredients while he noticed the Midgardians used synthetic chemicals. Interesting.

Natasha paid for both of their hands and they picked up their shopping bags to leave. Loki had thoroughly enjoyed shopping with the master assassin and would kill to do it again. The first thing they did was shop for dresses as Natasha explained she needed a brand new set because her old ones were destroyed in some fire. Top secret SHIELD stuff, he wasn't supposed to ask what more had happened.

He helped her pick out about five dresses; a couple of formal floor length garments that complimented her figure, two winter ones, and one simple dress that could be worn in all seasons or occasions. While Natasha was trying everything out, Loki spotted a lovely floor length gown that was a deep emerald and had an open back. He had to have it for when his returned and he could shape shift into his female form, he decided. So, without wanting to tell Natasha in case her knowing the fact that he could shape shift would turn into a disadvantage for him, he grabbed it along with clothes from the men's section. He bought his clothes with the debit card Pepper had supplied him with (at first he had to ask the cashier how to use it) and made sure the dressed was wrapped up and hidden underneath the shirts he bought.

After that, they looked through shoes, jewelry, and electronics. Loki got himself a stark phone which Natasha went through and modified so that he couldn't be located or traced easily with it. "Just a trick I learned from SHIELD," Natasha said dismissively when he questioned how she came across the knowledge.

Natasha also introduced him to ipods and the wonderful world of music. Loki downloaded all of the songs he knew Tony listened to in his workshop. Of course he also sampled different genres, finding each one intriguing. Eventually he settled on classical music though as the others genres such as pop or dubstep gave him a massive headache after a few songs.

Natasha led him outside the mall to the parking lot where her car was parked. They dropped off their stuff in the back seat and trunk before heading back inside. They wandered around, thirty more minutes to kill, when Natasha finally started asking serious questions.

"Do you know why Thor is chasing you?" she asked, voice strangely cold considering all the merriment they had earlier.

"No," Loki said. "Why? Do you know?"

"In a way," she said with a pause. She shot him a brief sympathetic look as if she felt deeply sorry for him. Loki raised a brow but didn't say anything to that. "Though I don't think he's going about this the right way. But it's none of my business to be honest and I don't want anything further to do with it."

"Good to know someone is on my side," he sniffed.

"I'm not quite sure of that either."

"Oh. It seems I have the wrong idea about what our relationship is currently."

"I didn't mean that," she said carefully. "Would you believe me if I offered to help you? Help you run as far as you can?"

"I would never to say no to assistance," Loki replied uneasily, not sure how to take that. "It would be great if you helped me pull off at least one crime in this city before I leave in some time."

"Sure thing, but it'd have to be after my mission."

"Of course," he agreed. "But why? Why are you offering?"

"Because I have a feeling that you should enjoy this and drag this on for as long as you can," she said quietly. "Because once he catches up with you, you're going to be in so much pain."

* * *

"This is Emma Cook reporting to the city from Riverside Park! Today is the grand re-opening of the community lake and we have a nice crowd here today to watch Mayor Townend cut the ribbon!"

The blonde reporter smiled sweetly as the cameraman made sure to catch some footage of the crowd gathering around. They were right in front of the pier which was decorated in symbolic red ribbon. People had small city flags to wave, signs approving of the Mayor, and children running around with face paint across their faces. It was a nice sunny day, perfect weather for the event.

The Mayor walked up to the reporter, a stout man with his chest puffed out in pride. In his hands were huge scissors that weren't really practical but more of a symbolic utensil. He gave the camera a wide smile, swiping a hand over his mustache to make sure it wouldn't get in the way of his teeth.

"And here's Mayor Townend! Sir, what do you think about this event today?"

"Today will be a landmark for our community!" The Mayor declared, "Perhaps the most spectacular event of the year!"

"Will you be pushing for more environmental awareness sir?"

"The environment is important! We will have a city cleanup day in two weeks in order to cleanse ourselves of the toxic influences of our society-"

Suddenly people screamed in the background. The mayor whipped his head around, confused as to why people were cowering and covering children's eyes. And then...he saw.

Strutting across the park was a naked man, yelling and smirking like he was enjoying himself. His long black hair blew gracefully in the wind as he approached the cameras. The news reporter gasped, nearly dropping her microphone.

"What in the world?!" the mayor exclaimed.

"Is that Loki?"

"Why yes, yes it is!" Loki yelled at the camera while he passed by it, pausing to make sure the cameraman got plenty of his pale body. He winked and bared his teeth at a few citizens who attempted to stop him. They cowered back in fear and he crossed his arms.

"Public nudity is a crime!" the mayor screamed at him.

The frost giant kept strutting along as if he owned the place. He waved at a few children and threw the mayor the finger which he had learned is a sign of disrespect, curtesy of Tony. But then he saw a few police cars arrive in the parking lot and decided it was time to get the fuck out of there. He sped up his pace until he was running.

Loki ducked into the bushes at the other side of the park right as people started calling for the police to hurry. He pushed his way through brambles, leaves, and dirt to the path he had mapped out earlier with Natasha. After crawling through too many bushes and avoiding litter, he climbed out from the underbrush and onto the street. It was a nice backstreet right between the back of the mall and the more rough side of the park. The perfect place to rendezvous considering they both had split off for different "missions".

Natasha was already waiting for him in her car, the back seat open. He jumped in, closed the door, and Natasha stepped on it without any prompting. Loki shuffled through the shopping bags from earlier until he found the clothes he had bought for his first disguise; a white button down, blue sweater vest, dark pants, and a pair of what Nat had called "hipster" glasses with clear lenses.

While he dressed, Natasha spoke without bothering to contain her laughter between words. "You went streaking? Showing off your ass is your idea of evil?"

"Well, it is breathtaking. I thought you Midgardians would appreciate some godly physique." He slipped on his pants and buttoned up. A smile ghosted his face when she snorted. "I cannot believe it is even a crime here. How can simply showing your body be indecent?"

"You run around Asgard nude?"

"Like I said, I cannot believe it is a crime here."

"Tony is going to enjoy that news report."

"That is enough," he said, cheeks turning faintly pink. "Did you contact Lady Potts?"

"Yes I did about twenty minutes ago. She has everything ready for our departure and we just have to get to the airport. Say goodbye to this car though. It's going to stay here."

"You must be so sad."

"It's comfortable and my favorite." she sniffed. "But I have a couple more in Malibu."

"Thank you for coming with us," Loki said honestly. "And giving me your trust."

"Who ever said I trusted you?" Natasha said with a smile.

"I assumed you did considering the fact that you are driving me to the airport after committing the somehow serious crime of public indecency."

"You could go to prison for that Loki. That was way too serious, you better hide underground before they catch you and you spend the rest of your life in a cell."

"Really?" Loki's brows raised. Did he do something too serious? He stared at the spy who was keeping a straight face until eventually it crumbled with a toothy grin.

"No, I lied. That was sarcastic, a lot of college student streak and get off with a little bit of time."

"Look at us," he laughed. "A couple of liars helping each other out."

"How did my life turn into this," she rolled her eyes. "I do this type of thing all the time. I think I can smell retirement coming up."

"You're too young for that," he put the glasses on, completing his transformation. "How do I look? This feels too hot."

"Like a hipster if we added a scarf and Starbucks," she snorted. "Weren't you cold running around naked by the way? It's supposed to be twenty."

"No, I was not," he sniffed. He didn't want to get into the fact that he hadn't noticed the chill because of what he was. "The cold never bothered me anyways."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> today is my birthday AND Mother's Day! Happy Mother's Day!


	39. Treason

"I am not sure it would be wise for you to view the video, sir." JARVIS said smoothly as Tony thumbed through the most recent news on Loki. The iron man simply rolled his eyes; the title of the article mentioned skinny dipping and he was sure the video would be innocent enough. It's not like Tony hasn't seen a naked man before. Tony was a man himself, thank you very much JARVIS, so Tony could handle some peen. A little bit of peen. Loki's...dick.

He kinda wanted to see the video.

"Oh shush, I have to see it Jarv. It's for investigative purposes." he bullshitted, hoping the AI would press play. "Plus I can look at any clues that'll lead us to to the direction of where the hell he's headed. I'm so tired of flying around blind."

At that moment the screen door to the balcony opened and the captain stepped through. Tony leaned back in the chair provided on the five-star hotel balcony and set his tablet on the table in front of him. Steve switched it to hologram mode and shifted through the many browsers that were open before settling on the video. He made a disgusted face.

"I'm pretty sure I taught him better than that. Of all the things I taught him, I was hoping some self respect would be the one thing he'd never forget." Steve took the other seat at the table with crossed arms. Tony couldn't help but laugh because the soldier looked like an upset mother.

"Lokes _is_ a prince, y'know. Or would he be king of Yo-yo Hymen? The whole kill your real dad thing." Tony poured his friend some wine before taking a sip of his own glass. One bottle wouldn't hurt anyone. "Either way, he's had plenty of charm school."

"Sometimes I just don't know." Steve ran a hand through his hair. He didn't touch the drink. "So do we have a location where this took place?"

There a moment's pause, both men waiting for JARVIS to respond.

"Yo, JARVIS, where he at?" Tony quipped after a few more beats of silence. "We need to know sometime this year."

"Sorry sir," the AI said, almost hesitantly. "It appears to be from central Colorado."

"Shit, we're too far south. Why'd you suggest New Mexico, JARVIS? I know Thor's girlfriend lives here but still you screwed up," Tony cursed, now wanting to get the fuck out of the state. "He's gone now I bet. Probably in the next state over."

Steve fiddled with the tablet until he pulled up a map of the United States. He added a new point on the map, right in the middle of Colorado. "Tony, we should head out to Utah. He's probably going straight across, all the way to California."

"Hmm, Cali. Sun's nice there, but I think it'll burn his skin. So fucking pale," Tony nodded before shifting back to the tab with the video he wanted to see. "The article said he went into the bushes towards a street. No one is fucking specific so I _have_ to look at this to see if I can get any street signs. Think you can handle it, Capsicle? Apparently JARVIS thinks it's a little too graphic even for me." Tony snarked.

"I'm sure I can handle a split second of Loki's butt."

"Sir..." JARVIS began but Tony was getting a little annoyed with his AI.

"Why are you being so unhelpful, JARV? Do I need to give you an update or something? Cause' you've been too quiet, too insistent on us not looking at certain information, and you advised us come out to New Mexico which is partly my fault because I should have known though so freaking obvious, Loki is heading straight across the map west! What is going on?"

"My apologies sir." the AI replied, almost stiffly.

"Fine. Just please, get over the mood you're having and actually help us. I need to find Loki, ok? Play the video."

"Sir, as I was trying to say earlier," JARVIS chirped. "Is that all access to the video has been restricted. You are not permitted to view."

"Excuse me? On who's orders?" Tony narrowed his eyes. What the hell? There was only one person who could restrict his own things without his permission and what reason would she have to restrict something Loki-related?

"Pepper Potts has-"

"Override it. But hold on with the video for a second. Why did Pepper block that?"

"I am not permitted to speak of Miss Pott's-"

"Override. What's going on?"

Steve watched Tony closely, hoping the iron man didn't flip the table. He looked like a combination of annoyed, pissed, and betrayed. Not really a pleasant mix of emotions. JARVIS didn't sound too good himself. Though he was not real, Steve swore he could hear a nervous pinch in the AI's voice. Shit.

"Sir, Loki has asked me not to disclose any of this."

"Too late then, huh?" Oh Tony was pissed now. "So you've been working with Rudolph the whole time? What else have you been doing behind my back, JARV? Give any weapons to terrorist groups lately? Let stray cats into my house?"

"Loki is currently en route to the Malibu mansion with Miss Potts and Natasha Romanoff. Miss Potts had restricted the video in belief that you would not search for any information until the morning. She had viewed the video approximately two minutes twenty seconds before her command and stated that it left 'too much evidence guys, Tony will figure out where you went Loki'."

"JARVIS, you little shit." Tony nearly jumped out of his chair and into the room to begin packing his small bag. Steve followed him with the tablet still open. "Blondie, go get your things, we're checking out and we're going to take an all-night flight over to Cali."

"I'll go downstairs and check out then. Meet me in the lobby." Steve said before sprinting off and out of the room.

Tony didn't waste a moment to turn back to the video once Steve left. He didn't really need to watch it anymore now that JARVIS admitted his treason...he just wanted to see Loki naked even though he was pretty annoyed. Why did it take him so long to figure out what was going on? All of this had happened right under Tony's nose! He had to pay more attention.

But for now...the video. Sampling the buffet, he said to himself. He was not being creepy or a horndog. Nope.

"Play this fucking video right now or else I'm donating you to Girl Scouts. Consider yourself lucky that I don't have you given to Boy Scouts, cause I'm sure treason equals death by snot nosed brats."

"My apologies sir," the AI said and without further ado, Tony was met with a news broadcast. For a minute it was nothing but a reporter and mayor but then it happened. The "it" being Loki's body. Oh Tony saw it all right. It was a fine piece of booty and Tony would definitely climb him like a tree. Though he'd grown a little soft from lounging around the tower all day, Loki still had plenty of lean muscle. He was still fit, had beautiful legs, and clear skin.

Tony was about to zoom in when he was interrupted with a call from none other than Nick Fury. Tony was obliged to take this one, he had bypassed the last ten by the one-eyed pirate.

"Yes, my dear, how may I be of service to you?" he answered with a sigh when the director's face filled a new window. Fury was already glaring at him.

"So you finally pick up, huh?" Fury nearly yelled. "Stark, Loki needs to be captured as soon as possible. These shenanigans are getting way out of hand!"

"Well maybe if you weren't trying to babysit me and would quit calling me, I could do my job!" Tony retorted. "I'm trying to get a lead, okay?"

"Stark, can you move your ass a little faster?"

"Can't you just check street surveillance or use one of your satellite thingies and leave me alone?"

"Obviously that method is not working." the man lowered his brows more to make the glare more intense. Tony didn't even blink. He wasn't intimidated at all.

"Whatever. Look, nice conversation we're having, but I gotta' go. Cap and I are heading out to look for him, okay?"

"Where are you heading?" Fury asked without missing a beat.

"We think he's heading back around to Tennessee. We found some evidence that he has unfinished business over there to take care of." Tony lied, face straight and unfaltering. Fury nodded and cut the line without another word.


	40. Airport

Loki was running his fingers over the glossy surface of the book's spine when he heard a familiar metal click right behind him. He tensed up almost immediately, preparing for what was bound to happen next. When he didn't hear any banter he turned slowly, back against the bookshelf, and faced his attacker. It was a dirty blond man in a hoodie, his weapon drawn out and aimed at his face.

A breath passed between the two before Loki grew frustrated. This was his last break before the flight to the mansion. He wasn't ready to get caught just yet.

"If you're going to do it, then do it. I do not have the patience for this." he spat.

"Y-You're him, right?" The man asked hesitantly, weapon in his hand shaking. "You're wearing the same hoodie you did when you r-robbed that store."

This wasn't a SHIELD agent. His demeanor was too meek though his eyes were daring. It was almost cute.

"Ah. You're just a citizen then." Loki rolled his eyes. "Begone or else I will turn you into a pile of toads or something else that you Midgardians believe magic users do."

"I-It's true that you d-do magic?" The man was shaking even more though he tried to get an obvious stand on it. "You could turn me into a toad?"

"Yes. I'm feeling creative today."

"You're bluffing."

"Do you want to find out?" Loki placed the book back on the shelf before stuffing his hands into his hoodie. He jutted his chin out as if he was confident that the man would do him no harm. He was pretty sure he could bluff his way out of the corner of the airport store and mingle into the crowds to escape. The corner he was in just happened to be the blind spot of security cameras which kind of backfired on him. He was planning on setting a few horrible excuses for literature on fire. He had just unwrapped a triple pack of lighters he found in the store too.

Said lighters were buried in his pockets, one in the left, two in the right. He grabbed one.

"P-put your hands out in the open where I can see them."

"No," Loki said. "I don't want to."

"I said put your hands up!" The man said in a louder voice, drawing the attention from a few other shoppers. Loki heard a gasp and scream for help.

"Great," He rolled his eyes. "Now they're getting the police involved. You idiot. I hope you don't find pointing guns at people minding their business any way heroic."

"I'll be helping out by taking out guys like y - "

Loki moved fast and quickly disarmed the man. He swung the back of the gun into the man's face - not once - but twice, and pushed his unconscious body to the side. He took out a lighter and stopped over at the bookshelf to light it on fire. It quickly caught and soon the whole shelf of literature that shouldn't have been published was up in flames. Good riddance, Loki sniffed, throwing the lighter next to the man's body before moving on.

By now a huge crowd in the store was screaming and calling for help. Someone got their hands on a fire extinguisher and ran over to put the flames out. People were recognizing Loki now, many snapping photos and ducking behind merchandise in case he lashed out. That wasn't his plan of course. He wanted to get the hell out of there.

A hand grabbed his arm and spun him around. Natasha's eyes were narrowed and her teeth clenched. Oops.

"Why would you do that?!" she sounded frustrated. "That is actually something bad, Loki! What if the whole store caught on fire?!"

"There was a man with a gun - "

"Yeah, I saw you take care of that," she started pushing him towards the exit. "Security is on their way. We need to slip out and over to the jet now."

"I got it," Loki said.

They ducked out of the shop, the busy airport now in chaos. People were still screaming, many fingers pointed right at them. Pictures were being taken.

Natasha had her hood on, blocking most of her face out minus a few strands of red hair. Loki was not covered though. He might be wearing the ultimate garment of disguise, but he stuck out like a thumb.

"Put your hands up, we have you surrounded!" A voice from a loudspeaker called out, security guards appearing and circling around them. They were in riot gear, weapons drawn and out. "Hands up Loki!"

"Damn," Loki cursed. "I messed up."

"You did." Nat sighed. "Look, I'm sorry for what's coming next. But go with it, okay?"

"What - " Loki began but wasn't able to complete his sentence.

Natasha kicked him square in the back before swinging around the grab his arms and pin him to the ground. She took out a pair of cuffs from a fold in her clothes and cuffed him on the floor. Loki didn't even have time to blink or groan in pain.

"Boys, I got this taken care of," she said in a professional tone. "I'm Agent Hill with the FBI. He is now in my custody."

She brought him up to his feet. The guards looked on, hesitant with what they should do next. The circle parted and one guard who must've been in charge stepped through. He twirled the loudspeaker in his hand.

"Ma'am, may we see some i.d. on that? We'll take him from your hands. We have orders to turn him over to another agency."

"And what agency would that be? I'm not authorized to hand over any cargo."

"That's classified I'm afraid, but can we see some i.d.?"

There was a pause where Natasha sized him up, estimating whether or not she could take him out. But then her gaze swept over the rest of the circle in gear. There were too many for that. So instead she shuffled through her pocket for her wallet.

"Of course."

Loki raised a brow. There was no way they were getting out of this. He was sure she probably had a few fake ids but one with Agent Hill's name on it? No way.

But she pulled out a card confidently and reached over to hand it to the guard. The guard stepped forward to receive it. Well I'll be damned, Loki thought.

"Ma'am...this is a gift card to Victoria's Secret."

He spoke too soon.

Natasha smiled cheekily before putting her hands up in the air. "It was worth a try."

"Ma'am, I'm afraid I'll have to put you under arrest for - "

A loud clash of thunder drowned his words out. He blinked for a second, everyone surprised by how loud it was. But then he opened his mouth to repeat what he was saying. He drowned out again, this time flinching from the volume.

"Damn," Loki said for the second time. "He's here."

"Shit," Natasha swore too.

But there was nothing they could do. The guards shifted uneasily before their leader ordered for them to start escorting the two out of the public area. The two didn't fight as a pair of guards roughly grabbed their arms and started shuffling them down the hall towards the more private areas.

They only made it three minutes down the hall before another bout of horrible thunder shook the walls. He was too close, Loki mused. It was just a bit of time before Thor came crashing in through the roof, the big oaf. A guard noticed his apprehensive gaze at the ceiling and chuckled.

"The roof is solid. Thunder isn't going to break it."

Loki only snorted.

Another violent boom shook the building when they reached the escalators which led up to the security headquarters. The lead was about to take the first step on the electronic stairs but the one person expected to show up appeared in an unexpected way.

Thor was on the escalator going down. He was wearing his full armor, winged helmet and all. His cape was bundled up in his arms, hair soaking wet, with mjolnir hooked to his belt. The blond had the most miserable look on his face that Loki hadn't seen in forever. He looked like a cross between a drowned rat and a little boy who lost his candy while swimming in the ocean.

It was too comical and unexpected, that Loki laughed long and hard. Thor's face scrunched up more from his reaction but the corners of his mouth quirked up in a small smile. Even he had to admit it was funny.

But the guards did not find it funny. They backed up, shoulders tense, withdrawing their weapons in warning. The leader crossed his arms. He was not getting paid enough for dealing with super hero shit.

"I see you got caught in the rain," Loki called out. "That's a good look for you, maybe you should go out like that more often. It really conveys your idiotic nature."

"Release my brother, please." Thor didn't quite ask but demanded once he stepped off the escalator and let his cape drape behind him. He took off his helmet and rested it against his hip. "I can take him from here."

"You are the second one to say something like that regarding this guy," the leader narrowed his eyes. "I don't know what the hell is going on here but I don't care. He is staying in our custody until we turn him over to SHIELD."

"So SHIELD is involved." Natasha whispered. "I thought so."

"It would be wise if you simply let me handle him. Asgardian affairs are above SHIELD's."

"I don't care if the queen wants him. I am not violating my orders."

"So be it," Thor said, tone slightly apologetic. He put his helmet back on and retrieved his hammer. The guards began to shoot but the bullets did not do too much damage.

Thor swung his hammer around, hitting guards away like swatting flies, until he had a path to Loki. He got a grip on his adoptive brother's hoodie and dragged him away from the group.

"Come on brother, pick up your feet! We must run!" The Asgardian yelled, pulling Loki along. Loki got the message and started running in front of the blond who stayed a few steps behind to protect him from the bullets being sprayed their way.

They were about to go straight ahead but more people with guns appeared, causing them to take another path down the hall. Those were definitely SHIELD agents.

"Loki!" Natasha yelled, suddenly appearing at his side. Thor blinked, confused as to how she suddenly showed up, but did not attack her.

"Lady Romanov," he said. "Have you allied yourself with my brother?"

She shot him a suspicious look before nodding.

"Ah, then I assure you he's in safe hands."

"Sure he is," Natasha snorted. "I'm not buying it."

"I just saved you from being captured!"

"I don't know how I feel about handing him over for you to use him."

"I changed my mind. I only wish to reconcile now. Please allow me to - "

"I hope you know I am right here!" Loki snarled. "Stop discussing me as if I am a child!"

Thor opened his mouth to reply but was cut off by a new wave of agents in front of them, closing in with fresh ammo. Natasha moved to grab Loki in order to jump out of the way into a nearby store but Thor beat her to it. He held onto his brother's waist and whirled his hammer around quickly to propel them up and over the agents.

The gust of air rippled their hair, flying at a fast speed through the building. They quickly approached a tall glass window where the hall bended. Thor twisted so that he took most of the blow when the window shattered and they fell through. They were still flying through the air, making it a lil ways over a few roads and into a small cluster of trees next to a highway.

The pair crashed into the top of a tree and stumbled down through branches that scraped at their skin. Thor still held on to Loki, trying his best to take the force of most of the fall as Loki's body was so fragile in his current state. He had no magic to heal himself so Thor tried his best to keep the injuries at a minimum.

The ended up sprawled on soft overgrown grass. Loki rolled off of Thor so that he was laying right next to him. He didn't want to move as though his brother had taken most of the pain, he still got battered up. He felt very sore. Small shards of glass covered his hoodie like snow. It was good that the garment was so thick.

Thor coughed, looking much worse than Loki. Glass fell from his golden locks, blood dripping from cuts on his face and hands. There were leaves and bits of wood stuck in his hair and chinks of his armor. His eyes were closed.

Loki sniffed, taking in his brother's appearance. He wasn't sure he could fully comprehend what just occurred. It all felt very surreal and had happened too fast.

"Thor," he said slowly. "You're an idiot and I hate you."

"I know."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried so hard to write this forgive me


	41. Over on the rainbow bridge

"I finally caught up to you," Thor smiled and tugged on the chain of the handcuffs that Loki was still in. "Hmm, you cannot run away either."

"How kinky," Loki drawled. He flashed him a flirtatious wink mockingly and fixed the blond with a cruel grin.

"No," the blonde said, face disgusted. "Please don't jest that way - we are brothers."

"Are we now?"

"I will see to these getting removed soon," Thor went on, electing to ignore Loki being a sarcastic ass which was his usual mode when around the blond. "I'm sure we can find a sorceress capable of cutting this device on Asgard - "

"That is not necessary. I simply need a key to unlock it," Loki interrupted. "And I am _not_ going to Asgard with you."

"But you need to."

"No I don't!" Loki shuffled away until a good two feet was between them. "I don't know what you want with me, but I'm sure it isn't pleasant."

"It's not entirely..." Thor shrugged. "But Loki I need - "

"To throw me into a cell?" Loki growled.

"No, you are mistaken - "

"Oh, then I suppose you wish to have me tortured instead? Or are you and your father going to use me as a bargaining tool? That _is_ why the old man - "

"I would never!" Thor reached out with a hand only to have Loki back away like a wounded animal. "Loki, listen! I am sorry for my actions. I do not want to cause you any further harm, can you please believe me?"

"I can't." He shook his head. "No. I won't."

"I saved you just now," Thor reasoned. "I - "

"We both know you weren't there to save me. You just happened to run into some competition."

"Fine, it wasn't my first plan - "

"Then don't say you saved me! Don't expect some credit - "

"But I did. I could have just left you to your fate," Thor had trouble maintaining eye contact. "But I didn't want to make that mistake again."

"It would be harder to break into SHIELD's facilities - "

"Damn it Loki! Can you stop being so cynical for a moment?" He huffed. Thor took a second to breathe, his breath coming out too heavy. He was looking too old again, as if stress was causing him to age faster than he should. "Fine. We don't have to go to Asgard. If it means I'll earn at least an _ounce_ of forgiveness then I'll drop you off at whatever your destination was and leave you."

"You can't be serious."

"I am. I don't have time for this," Thor crossed his arms. "I need to get back to Asgard soon, with or without you."

"What do you want from me?" Loki said slowly. Thor was looking down at him the same way a father wold when scolding a son. It was pissing Loki off.

"Forgiveness."

"Other than that."

"Will you allow me to speak? Or do you want to spend more time bickering?" Thor scolded, leaning against a tree to wait for Loki's response. After a beat of silence, he went on. "Asgard is currently not in its greatest state."

Loki opened his mouth to say a snide comment but decided better to remain quiet. But Thor's expression made it so tempting to be childish.

"Word spread about your banishment, not just amongst the citizens, but also to other realms. Of course this did not cause too much concern, as you weren't quite..."

"Liked," the frost giant supplied. "There was celebration I am sure."

"A few weeks later, we held a conference with the other leaders of the realms. Just the usual discussions of treaties, trade, touching basis, so on. You are aware of how all of that goes on."

Loki nodded.

"Things were not going too smoothly for us. There were reports of bandits and thieves coming into our lands from Aflheim. They were looting and destroying villages on the outer ring of our territory, not to mention they were also disturbing trade. Father blamed the elves and demanded something be done about it, however, he was not satisfied with any of the solutions that were proposed. I urged him to accept a proposition where we would be compensated for our losses and the elves would send more enforcements to the area. In my opinion, the issue was not too big at that point in time and his obsession with that border was petty."

"Your father must have some ulterior motive," Loki said. Thor nodded in agreement.

"My thoughts exactly at that time, brother. He did not listen to my reasoning and threatened war. The elves were not pleased and decided to place an embargo on Asgard. He then ordered an attack on the elves before falling into Odinsleep. For the time that he was asleep, I had to manage Asgard's defense against a counterattack. It was brutal.

Hours before father awoke, I discovered that he did indeed have a motive for courting war. He had offered the Mad Titan Thanos the lives of the elves in exchange for Asgard's safety from his wrath. He had also promised our lives for reassurance that Thanos would skip over Asgard. It was not honorable and I seized power from father. I could not allow the war to go on for that purpose nor could I allow him to trade us off."

"Where is your father now?"

Thor looked at him warily. "In your old cell."

"No," Loki nearly gasped. "No you didn't."

"Aye, I did," he shrugged. "I charged him with treason. I finally realized just how cruel he had been and it seemed fitting."

"I can't believe this," he shot Thor a shit eating grin. "The favorite son of Odin turned again him."

"He turned against me, Loki. Against us. Against Asgard," Thor's gaze bore into his. "I had to protect us all."

"What happened after that?" Loki would admit that Thor's explanation and story was actually interesting him. He still did not want to go to Asgard though. Hell, why would he after all of that?

"Ever since I had him arrested, I have been struggling to keep the kingdom in order. There was panic when news of Odin's arrest leaked out into the public. I had to deal with a few revolts, the threat of Thanos now that his deal with Odin is void, and the war."

"Hm, you shouldn't be here. You should be commanding your army."

"But I need you."

"You actually are risking the state of Asgard to retrieve me?" Loki narrowed his eyes. "You must want a favor from me. Natasha did say that you were planning on using me. What for?"

"I need you to speak with the elves. You always had a good reputation with them and you have a way with words that I do not possess. I tried to negotiate with them but I have had no success. They will not listen to me but they might listen to you if you can convince them."

"So that is all?"

"I would request that you fight with us if they refuse."

"No," Loki smiled. "I will not assist you. I rather watch Asgard burn to ashes. I think I have a good seat from here."

"Loki..." Thor sighed. But they weren't done talking.

"You're leaving something out. You have been vague throughout this whole goose chase, and I want to know what it is that you are hiding from me."

"I don't know if I can trust you with everything." Thor admitted, unhelpfully.

"You'll need to if you expect my help," Loki said. "I'm not going to try to kill you again, Odinson, unless you give me reason to."

"I don't know about that," Thor responded.

"I no longer have a desire for revenge," Loki said. "Well, maybe against Odin, but then again there will always be hatred in my heart for him."

"And not for me?"

"Only indifference."

Which was a lie. But Loki wasn't going to admit that.

Thor looked him over, debating in his head whether or not to tell him the full picture. He weighed the pros and cons, tried to predict how Loki would react, and decided to go ahead.

"Mother was injured in an attack and it is uncertain whether or not she will recover."

Loki stared and blinked. "What?"

Thor simply looked away, waiting for what he predicted.

"What?" Loki repeated.

"She's fatally wounded."

"What?!" Loki yelled this time. "What do you mean fatally wounded?!"

"I mean she might die. She is not recovering well."

"Why was she injured?!"

"Loki," Thor sighed. "A band of elves made it to the castle and tried to win the war by seizing it. Mother fought valiantly and risked her life to protect it. She managed to defeat them but at a price..."

"Surely the healers can save her?" Loki demanded. "You will not let my mother die - "

" _Our_ mother. I have tried to have her looked after, but we are currently in short supply. So far we are at a standstill with the elves, but another attack from them will ensure our defeat. Mother has asked for wounded soldiers and citizens to be looked after instead of her own person since we only have so few. I'm trying my best to convince her - "

"Your best isn't good enough!" Loki snapped. He couldn't handle the news. There was no way he mother was hurt and close to dying. He couldn't imagine his mom dead. She was the only person he truly cared for on Asgard all those years. She taught him all he knew about magic, had showered him with love, and understood him. Though everything was rather rocky between him and Asgard, his mom was always that one person he was fine with. She was his weakness.

Thor watched him quietly.

"Why didn't you tell me she was hurt at the beginning of all of this?" Loki said roughly. He clenched his fists as best as he could with the hand cuffs on.

"I knew you'd blame me and I was concerned that it would push you away further."

"When will you learn that telling me the truth prevents so many problems? I could have saved her a while ago." He was barring his teeth now. "When will you see that withholding information from me incites my rage?"

"Come on now, you've always been so angry for the past few years!" Thor snapped back. "It's ridiculous! You're so unpredictable and mad nowadays that I can't just tell you everything like I used to when we were children."

"That is not true!"

"Do not lie! If I told you upfront that Asgard was in peril and mother was on her deathbed, you would've taken your anger out on me and maybe even innocent Midgardians. I was simply trying to delay the destruction it'd cause. I just needed some time to find a way to explain."

"No!" He pulled on the chain that was connecting the cuffs together. He wanted to punch something. He wanted to use some magic to kill something. Or someone. "I would have agreed to come with you and resolve the war without a fuss."

"Please, I hope you stop lying to yourself."

"Fine. I would have killed all the elves. Every last one of them for hurting mother. I think I shall, actually."

"No," Thor shook his head. "Please do not."

"Well I need to do something now!" He was back to yelling. "Mother - "

"Does not wish for father's plans to be carried out. That would only help the Mad Titan and it'd be easier for him to take Asgard. Genocide is not the answer and we have already established that before this mess."

"I know," Loki said quietly. "But I want to."

"Save your energy for Thanos," Thor said firmly. "He's a threat to everyone, every realm. We need to put an end to this pointless war and aim everyone's attention to him instead."

"You only want me to speak with the elves?"

"Yes," Thor said. "Please without any hatred. They are only reacting to Odin's attack."

"Will you allow me my magic?"

"Yes. I can grant you it right now if I see you are worthy. I have that privilege as king. But do you promise to perform your part - "

"Of course I do. I'm only speaking with them because this war needs to end so we can have some more people look after mother. Actually, I think I'll help her recover myself." He gave Thor a pointed look. Thor just shrugged.

"Thank you."

"Don't," Loki snapped. "It's not for you. I hate you...less than I did before, but I still hate you."

"I suppose I will take that as forgiveness?" Thor offered.

"I tolerate you. Nothing more."

Thor's arms were suddenly around him, pulling him in for a hug. He was warm and had that distinct smell of metal mingled with sweet ginger. It was so familiar and it surprised Loki that he hadn't changed in that aspect. He was willing to work with the blond once again, just like the days before their relationship went down the drain, but they were never going back to the way things were before.

He must have said that out loud because Thor drew back and nodded solemnly.

"I know. I promise you I will pardon all of your crimes, and you will be free to do as you please."

"Fine with me."

Thor nodded, putting his helmet that he had left resting against a tree on his head. He picked up mjolnir and grabbed the chain between Loki's cuffs with another hand.

"Let's go end this, shall we?" Thor said.

* * *

A week.

A week had gone by since it was reported all across the news that Loki was last spotted at an airport in some state (Tony couldn't remember because that wasn't important). Something had happened, apparently the FBI was involved in trying to arrest him (It was really SHIELD undercover) and they were damn close. But then some civilians got few seconds of footage of Thor swooping in. There was another video of him flying away straight through some glass with Loki in tow.

And that was it.

No other word or sign of either of them.

Fury had been furious. He had called Tony, spent a couple of hours screaming at how incompetent Stark was for not plotting Loki's direction accurately, and then let him know that the hunt was over. SHIELD had decided to leave the Loki situation alone and declare it a mission complete even though he wasn't in their custody.

They resolved that he was obviously in Asgard's prison once again where he belonged. It was out of their hands.

And it was out of Tony's.

Tony didn't cry the first two nights - his eyes were just leaking. He didn't spend his days rolling around on the beach sand trying to feel some warmth in what he was passing off as a heart. He also didn't down drink after drink nearly nonstop to the point where Steve had to drag him to the hospital from alcohol poisoning.

Of course that didn't stop Tony from drinking once he got back to the mansion.

Poor Steve tried hard to cheer Tony up in every way he could. He tried teaching Tony how to paint, showed him some movies, even offered to do science with him. But Tony refused and elected to just lay on the sand, his skin tanning to golden goodness. Of course, it didn't burn because Steve would spray him with sunscreen as he lay there, staring up at the sky.

Steve wanted him to be happy. It really bothered him just how sad Tony was. Tony blamed himself for Loki being taken away and for his failure in protecting him. So, in an attempt to tie up loose ends and try to figure out what exactly happened, Steve managed to get in contact with Pepper and Natasha.

Natasha was pretty upset her self, also feeling at fault for losing him. But she assured them that wherever Thor had taken Loki, the frost giant wouldn't be harmed. She didn't think he would at least. She hoped not. Pepper was also sorry for their lost (as if Loki had died) and brought them a few gift baskets.

Of course Tony had raved angrily at both of them. He was drunk and waved his arms animately as he complained about everything they did wrong. To Pepper and how she shouldn't have agreed to Loki's twisted plan.

"Damn it Pepper, the guy is only five years old!" Tony exclaimed, to everyone's confusion. Pepper tried to urge him to lay down but Tony kept on spewing. He talked about how he felt so betrayed and how he only wanted to help Loki. And then he insisted that Natasha could have stopped him and returned him home. As if he was some lost puppy, which he is according to Tony. He even had some things to yell at JARVIS and told him he was going to dismantle him and toss him into the ocean.

"It's over JARVIS!" he rambled at the ceiling. But a second later he said quickly, "No, no I don't mean that buddy. I love you, JARV."

"It's fine, sir." JARVIS said.

"I didn't mean it buddy." Tony repeated before collapsing on the floor. He was out for about twelve hours.

Pepper had moved on to take care of some business as usual while Natasha stuck around. Her excuse was that she was staying under the radar for a while to let things cool down. SHIELD knew of her involvement and was pretty suspicious about her. But they accepted her excuse that she was chasing after him on her own and just got caught up in the fray.

But they were watching her.

It was late at night when Tony dragged himself inside through the door and flopped down on a sofa in the living room. A few bottles of whiskey were already lodged up in between the cushions. He popped one open with ease and it pressed to his lips when a flash of green appeared before him eyes.

He nearly dropped the bottle on himself.

In front of him something materialized slowly, enveloped in green light. Soon there was a pair of legs, a torso, arms, and a face with a smile that he knew too well. He was wearing armor, a slight variant of the set he wore during the invasion, but it was still recognizable as his. This time he didn't have a pointy helmet on and his dark hair flowed freely to his shoulders. He still had those bright green eyes.

His lips quirked, a new more teasing smile appeared on his face.

"I thought I told you to quit that drinking habit of yours?"

Tony couldn't breathe. He stared at Loki - that was Loki, right - with an open mouth. He wedged the open bottle back into the couch and stood up.

And he stared. Loki stared back, his expression still teasing but pleasant. He looked relaxed and relieved. There were faint dark circles under his eyes as if he didn't get enough sleep.

Tony moved forward until he was looking up at Loki, arm's distance between the two. And then he drew his arm back, aimed, and punched straight at his face.

His fist extended into nothing but air.

He could hear a soft chuckle besides his ear and a pair of arms wedged under his and wrapped themselves around him softly. Loki rested his chin on top of Tony's head, the iron man's hair rubbing against his skin.

"I knew you'd do that," Loki mumbled.

"You could've gotten yourself captured by SHIELD or killed or worse! And I didn't know where you were!" Tony said, his words rushing out all at once. "And then Thor, and you just disappeared, and now you're back?! With your weird getup so I assume you're not dead? Did you defeat the big bad lightning storm? Did you grow a few inches?"

"I can't...understand what you are trying to say," Loki said, raising a brow which he knew Tony couldn't see. "But I'm home."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me tried. Not done yet


End file.
